Systems and methods for domestic and/or cross border blockchain transaction solutions involving central bank digital currency

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for processing global CBDC transactions in a blockchain supported network, where domestic and foreign banking institutions may provide mutual hosting of a consortium blockchain to allow more seamless and direct CBDC supported transactions, and CBDC exchanges in real-time or near-real time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/161,396 filed on Mar. 15, 2021, U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 63/197,923 filed on Jun. 7, 2021, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/228,584 filed on Aug. 2, 2021, andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/241,974 filed on Sep. 8,2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for providingnovel central bank digital currency (CBDC) transaction solutionsutilizing domestic and/or cross-border blockchain integration to achieveintelligent enhancements over conventional systems and methods. Somespecific embodiments herein relate to intelligent domestic and/orcross-border (e.g., across jurisdictions), cross-format (e.g., betweenblockchain formats), and/or cross-network (e.g., between differentbanking networks) blockchain transaction processing for bothaccount-based transactions and cash-based transactions.

BACKGROUND

The solutions of the present disclosure provide a fundamentallydifferent and monumental alternative to the traditional transactionprocess. With the technology of the present disclosure, domestic and/orglobal CBDC transactions—with many forms of CBDC issued by a pluralityof different central banks—can be processed seamlessly and efficiently(whether within a single jurisdiction, or across multiplejurisdictions), and while limiting the use of computing resources.Moreover, the flexibility that the technology of the present disclosureprovides to network participants is virtually limitless, allowingdomestic and/or global transactions to take place without the hassle,inconvenience, or computational burden of traditional currency exchangeprocesses. Embodiments of the disclosure will be discussed in furtherdetail herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure, in accordance with one or more variousembodiments, is described in detail with reference to the followingfigures. The figures are provided for purposes of illustration only andmerely depict typical or example embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example domestic and/or cross-border blockchaintransaction network in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates a symbolic representation of an exampleconfiguration for smart contract governed transactions between twoparticipating commercial banks—one in a first jurisdiction and one in asecond jurisdiction—over a consortium blockchain that utilizes a centralbank node in the first jurisdiction to bridge the sub-transactions thatachieve the objective transaction, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates a symbolic representation of an exampleconfiguration for smart contract governed transactions between twoparticipating commercial banks—one in a first jurisdiction and one in asecond jurisdiction—over a consortium blockchain that utilizes a centralbank node in the second jurisdiction to bridge the sub-transactions thatachieve the objective transaction, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2C illustrates a symbolic representation of an exampleconfiguration for smart contract governed transactions between adomestic participating commercial bank and a foreign participatingcommercial bank over a consortium blockchain, utilizing a central bankto bridge the sub-transactions that achieve the objective transaction,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates a simplified view of an example system and methodfor direct foreign currency exchange in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3B illustrates a simplified view of an example system and methodfor indirect foreign currency exchange in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3C illustrates a simplified view of an example system and anothermethod for indirect foreign currency exchange in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3D illustrates a simplified view of an example system and methodfor direct foreign currency exchange where the two parties involved aremembers of the same bank, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example subchain supported transaction inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example subchain supported transaction inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4C illustrates an example subchain supported transaction inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example domestic and/or cross-border blockchaintransaction network in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example domestic and/or cross-borderblockchain transaction network in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example aggregated domestic and/or cross-borderblockchain transaction network in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an example computing device that may be used to implementvarious features of embodiments described in the present disclosure.

The figures are not exhaustive and do not limit the present disclosureto the precise form disclosed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods of the present disclosure include domestic and/orcross-border blockchain architectures, processes, and strategies toenable more dynamic and versatile blockchain based transactionprocessing (e.g., authorization, authentication, clearing, and/orsettlement, etc.). Systems and methods of the present disclosure providenovel blockchain architectures, relationship management routines, feeminimization techniques, computational resource balancing/reduction,triaged transparency schema, jurisdiction and role-based privacyregimes, bank run avoidance solutions, intelligent transaction boundarydesigns, and/or foreign currency exchange mechanisms.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example domestic and/or cross-border blockchaintransaction network in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The illustrated domestic and/or cross-borderblockchain architecture may include one or more “consortium” blockchains(also referred to herein as “consortium chains,” for short), such asconsortium chain 110 and consortium chain 120, with nodes of each suchchain denoted by numerals 110 a-110 f and 120 a-120 f, respectively.Each consortium chain in a given deployment may be dedicated toprocessing transactions that involve a specific type of CBDC (forexample, the type of CBDC issued by a central bank of a singlejurisdiction, such as USD-CBDC issued by the United States Central Bank(commonly known as the “US Fed”)). For the given type of CBDC that agiven consortium chain is dedicated to processing, the consortium chainmay be configured to process transfers or exchanges of such CBDC betweenbank accounts configured to hold such CBDC (referred to herein as“account-based” transactions).

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the network may include a firstconsortium chain 110 dedicated to processing account-based transactionsinvolving USD-CBDC (i.e., CBDC issued by the United States Central Bank102), and a second consortium chain 120 dedicated to processingaccount-based transactions involving Euro-CBDC (i.e., CBDC issued by theEuropean Central Bank 104).

In general, a consortium chain is comprised of one or more node(s)hosted by one or more commercial banks and central banks, where any suchcommercial banks may be located inside (a.k.a. domestic) or outside(a.k.a., foreign) the jurisdiction that issued the CBDC that the givenconsortium chain is dedicated to processing. Commercial banks that hostone or more nodes of any consortium chain configured within thearchitecture are referred to herein as “Participating Commercial Banks”(or “PCBs,” for short). For instance, a consortium chain 110 forUSD-CBDC may be hosted by node(s) 110 a, 110 b, 110 c, 110 d, 110 e, 110f provided by one or more domestic PCBs 100 a, 100 b, 100 c (i.e.,participating PCBs located in the United States) as well as node(s)provided by one or more foreign PCBs 100 d, 100 e, 100 f (i.e.,participating PCBs located outside the United States, e.g., in Europe).

The domestic and/or cross-border blockchain architectures of the presentdisclosure may further include one or more “sub-chain” blockchains (alsoreferred to herein as “subchains,” for short). A given subchain is madeup of one or more node(s) hosted by a single PCB. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 1, the architectures of the present disclosure mayinclude a USD-CBDC subchain made up of one or more nodes 112 amaintained by PCB 100 a, and similarly for nodes 112 b-f maintained byPCBs 100 b-f, respectively. In similar fashion, as further illustratedin FIG. 1, the architectures of the present disclosure may include aEuro-CBDC subchain made up of one or more nodes 122 a maintained by PCB100 a, and similarly for nodes 122 b-f maintained by PCBs 100 b-f,respectively. Each PCB's subchain is dedicated to processingtransactions that involve one type (or, in some embodiments, multipletypes) of CBDC being transferred between two digital wallets, or betweena digital wallet and a bank account (referred to herein, individuallyand collectively, as “cash-based transactions”). While subchains arespecifically not dedicated to processing transactions that involvedirect transfers of CBDC between bank accounts (which, as notedpreviously, are referred to as account-based transactions), in someembodiments such subchains may be configured to process direct transfersof CBDC between bank accounts for amounts of CBDC beneath apredetermined threshold (e.g., transfers of USD-CBDC below $20 USD-CBDC,below $50 USD-CBDC, below $1,000 USD-CBDC, or below any predetermined orpreset threshold amount of USD-CBDC). Though each PCB may have its ownsubchain(s), in some embodiments one or more of a given PCB'ssubchain(s) may be linked with one or more of the subchains of one ormore of the other PCBs in order to facilitate “cross-chain” transactions(discussed further below).

To enable higher computational performance (e.g., faster computernetwork processing speed metrics) and efficiency, a single PCB may havemultiple subchains dedicated to processing cash-based transactionsmeeting predefined criteria (e.g., a particular type of CBDC,originating from a particular geographic location, and/or any otherdefinable criteria or combination of definable criteria). In someembodiments, a single PCB may maintain node(s) hosting multiplesubchains for processing transactions involving a given type of CBDC. Insome such embodiments, each subchain (among the multiple subchains forthe given type of CBDC) may be dedicated to processing differentcategories of cash-based transactions.

For example, based in part on transaction volume, one subchain of a PCBmay be dedicated to processing USD-CBDC cash-based transactions withinNew York City, while another subchain of the same PCB may be dedicatedto processing USD-CBDC cash-based transactions within California, whileyet another subchain of the same PCB may be dedicated to processingUSD-CBDC cash based transactions within the remaining 48 states. In suchan implementation, individual subchains of this type may be said to be“geo-specific” subchains or “region-specific” subchains.

In another example, based in part on a measure of transaction importanceor client-relationship/classification priorities, one subchain of a PCBmay be dedicated to processing USD-CBDC cash-based transactionsinvolving or initiated by customers falling within a first tier (basedon a predefined rule, selection, or setting), while another subchain ofthe same PCB may be dedicated to processing USD-CBDC cash-basedtransactions involving or initiated by customers falling within a secondtier (based on a predefined rule, selection, or setting), while yetanother subchain of the same PCB may be dedicated to processing USD-CBDCcash based transactions involving or initiated by customers fallingwithin a third tier (based on a predefined rule, selection, or setting).In such an implementation, individual subchains of this type may be saidto be “customer-specific” or “transaction-specific” subchains. Manyother examples of subchain specificity (beyond “geo-specific” and“customer-specific”) may be implemented for processing speedenhancements, load balancing, fail-safe policies, power saving efforts,or other efforts to enhance computational performance and/or transactionspeed efficiencies—depending on what criteria are best suited to theparticular application, priorities, or environment within which thedisclosed technology is deployed.

In addition to provisioning multiple subchains for different categoriesof cash-based transactions involving a given type of CBDC, a PCBserver-side configuration may be designed to offload—under predefinedcircumstances—one or more account-based transactions onto the PCB'slegacy transaction processing system. The network described herein maybe configured to execute such an offloading (e.g., via an applicationserver or other computing engine) when transaction volume on a givenconsortium blockchain exceeds a predefined threshold. For example, thenetwork may be configured to begin offloading subsequently-initiatedtransactions to the PCB's legacy system whenever the current computingresources dedicated to a given consortium chain exceeds 80% capacity,and then return to normal operation (processing all qualifyingaccount-based transactions on the given consortium blockchain) whencapacity falls back down below 80%, for instance. Additionally, itshould be noted that capacity measurements may be dynamic (i.e., changewith time or circumstance). In some instances the capacity measure of aconsortium blockchain server node may be observably driven to zerocapacity if the server experiences a failure. In such cases, the networkwould be configured to push all transactions that would otherwise beprocessed by the consortium chain server node to the legacy transactionsystem servers of the PCB (which may later be synchronized with theconsortium chain once the consortium chain server node comes back onlineor otherwise regains acceptably operable status). In this way, thenetwork may be configured to have one or more multi-layer failsafemechanisms to enhance processing times and provide a highly reliabletransaction processing environment.

By hosting node(s) of the consortium chain as well as node(s) of a“sub-chain,” PCBs serve as a link to support account-based transactionsand cash-based transactions, and for multi-step transactions that mayinvolve both cash-based and account-based transactions. PCBs may beconfigured with the intelligence to selectively process transactions (orportions of transactions) on different blockchains with flexibility andagility, which in some embodiments may be based on the nature of theoverall transaction, the nature of one or more steps in the transaction(e.g., the nature of the first leg or second leg of a given multi-steptransaction which together achieve the overall transaction), thelocation of the accounts of the parties to the transaction (and/or theparties to the first or second leg of the transaction), the types offiat and/or CBDC currency involved in the transaction (and/or the typesinvolved in the first or second leg of the transaction).

A consortium blockchain may further comprise one or more node(s) hostedby a central bank (e.g., United States Central Bank 102, Euro CentralBank 104). A central bank for a given jurisdiction supervises orexercises control over PCBs in the given jurisdiction, and govern thecreation (sometimes referred to as “minting”), issuance (sometimesreferred to as “putting into circulation), restriction (sometimesreferred to as “locking”), and removal (sometimes referred to as“burning” or “removing from circulation”) of the jurisdiction-specificCBDC that serves as legal tender in that jurisdiction. The central bankdesigned for handling jurisdiction-specific CBDC for the jurisdictionmay be the same central bank designed for handling jurisdiction-specificfiat currency for the jurisdiction. For instance, in Europe, the centralbank may be operated by the European Union Central Bank and may mint,put into circulation, lock, remove from circulation, Euro CBDC (centralbank digital currency).

As noted above, a consortium blockchain may be configured to process“account-based” transactions for a given type of CBDC, includingtransactions that involve or otherwise require movements of CBDCcurrency between two or more CBDC accounts at different PCBs (e.g.,where the payer and payee hold CBDC accounts at two differentparticipating banking institutions). Also as noted above, a subchainblockchain (sometimes referred to as a cash chain) is configured toprocess “cash-based” transactions (and/or account-based transactions inamounts not exceeding a predefined threshold, e.g., not exceeding $50USD-CBDC, not exceeding $100 USD-CBDC, or other predefined threshold).Cash-based transactions include those transactions that involve orotherwise require movements of CBDC (1) between two or more digitalwallets (e.g., sending and receiving CBDC where the payer and payee areboth wallet holders at one or more PCBs (which may be the same PCB ordifferent PCBs) or a nonparticipating commercial bank that has partneredwith one or more PCBs for purposes of transacting on the network(referred to herein as “nonparticipating partner commercial bank” or“NPB” for short), and are using those wallets for the transaction, or(2) between a digital wallet and an account, where the account may be anaccount held by (a) a PCB itself (e.g., a customer (payer) making adeposit or a withdrawal at their PCB (as payee), or a customer (aspayer) exchanging fiat currency for CBDC currency with their PCB (aspayee), vice versa), (b) another member of any PCB (which may include aperson or entity that is a different person or entity than the holder ofthe digital wallet, or even a different PCB or NPB within the networkthat is a member of the PCB), or (c) another member of another PCB (orNPB) that is different from the PCB providing the digital wallet to theholder of the digital wallet involved in the transaction.

As noted, in a desirable deployment, each type of CBDC may have its ownconsortium blockchain. PCBs in one jurisdiction (which may be referredto as domestic participating banks, depending on the context) maypartner with PCB s in other jurisdictions (which may be referred to asforeign participating banks) to form a consortium, which together hostone or more consortium blockchains (each dedicated to a different typeof CBDC) to support the domestic and/or cross-border blockchaintransaction network. In such embodiments, PCBs across multiplejurisdictions may have one or more nodes dedicated specifically to eachtype of CBDC introduced into the domestic and/or cross-border blockchaintransaction network. PCBs may maintain physically separate servers asthe consortium blockchain node(s) for respective types of CBDC.Alternatively, PCBs may maintain virtually separate servers as theconsortium blockchain node(s) for respective types of CBDC (i.e., thenodes may be virtually/logically separate but still be hosted on thesame physical server). In implementations adopting such architectures,PCBs may serve as a bridge (sometimes referred to herein as a “link,”“coupling point,” or “cross”) between the various CBDC-specificconsortium blockchains within the network. As discussed herein, thebridge provided by such PCBs may be configured to achieve more efficientstreamlined foreign currency exchange procedures.

Such architectures may be implemented even though a given central bankmay only issue the type of CBDC it mints to PCBs that maintain situs inthe jurisdiction over which the central bank exercises control. Itshould be understood, however, that it is within the scope of thepresent disclosure to implement the same or similar architecture where,perhaps in the future, central banks begin to issue CBDC to PCBs havinga situs outside the jurisdiction over which the given central bankexercises control (or at least allow such foreign PCBs to exchange orpurchase such CBDC with/from the central bank).

Further still, the architecture illustrated in FIG. 1 may be furtherextended to NPBs (or even to a payment service or other third partyservice in operative communication with banking institutions) that donot host any portion of the consortium blockchain. Thereby, NPB mayprovide their own customers with one or more benefits of the disclosednetwork by submitting transactions for processing thereon through one ofthe PCBs with whom they partner. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a NPBmay establish a relationship with one or more PCBs to enable the NPB toinitiate transactions on behalf of its customers, and permit the PCB toprocess the transaction on the appropriate blockchain on behalf of suchNPB. For example, an NPBs may partner with a domestic or foreign PCB,and initiate the execution of a transaction via an API, a digital walletor an account that the domestic or foreign PCB makes available to theNPB. In some implementations, NPBs in a given jurisdiction can set upone or more accounts with one of the PCBs in the same or differentjurisdiction (or in the country that mints and issues the CBDC the NPBis interested in transacting in) and relay its customers' (or its own)transactions through the PCB with whom it has set up an account. Basedon the details of the transaction, the PCB with whom the NPB haspartnered may process the transaction through the consortium chain,through its “subchain” blockchain, or its legacy transaction network(for which it may thereafter sync one or more transaction details intothe consortium blockchain and/or its own “subchain” blockchain).Business incentives may be established between PCBs and NPBs such thatPCBs realize a benefit (e.g., collect a fee) from processingtransactions on the consortium blockchain or subchain on behalf of NPBs(or customers of NPBs).

The architecture in FIG. 1 supports both “account based” transactionsand “cash-based” transactions involving an “account” and/or a hosted“digital wallet” (which may be linked to an account). PCBs may beconfigured to host for its customers (e.g., users, NPBs, merchants,etc.) digital wallets corresponding to one or more types of CBDC (andrelated accounts). PCBs may offer its customers (e.g., users, NPBs,merchants, etc.) a companion digital wallet application on theircomputing device (e.g., a smartphone application, web application, etc.)to permit such customers to control their corresponding accounts andinitiate or otherwise participate in cash-based and/or account-basedtransactions on the domestic and/or cross-border transaction network(with application calls being made to the PCB application serversthrough an API, for example). In some embodiments, a PCB may hostmultiple digital wallets for a customer, where each digital wallet islinked to one or more accounts (and related blockchain) corresponding toa single type of CBDC. In some embodiments, a PCB may host a singledigital wallet for a customer, where the digital wallet is linked toaccounts (and related blockchains) corresponding to multiple types ofCBDC. In some embodiments, a customer's own digital wallet may beconfigured to manage and/or host multiple different types of CBDC and/orthe same type of CBDC received from different PCBs. Though in someembodiments, a given digital wallet may only link to accounts at onebank, in other embodiments a given digital wallet can be linked toaccounts at multiple participating and/or non-PCBs (and candeposit/withdraw from those multiple bank accounts through calls throughsuch respective banks' APIs). In some implementations, particularlythose implementations where a single digital wallet links to accounts atonly one bank, a given user may have access to multiple discrete digitalwallets that are coupled with the accounts the user holds with therespective PCBs. Customers of PCBs that host customers' digital walletscan utilize their companion digital wallet applications to depositand/or withdraw CBDC by syncing their digital wallets with the PCBswallets (or via the bank ATM or bank teller) to reflect currencymovements/exchanges made with the customers' bank accounts. In someembodiments, such PCBs or central banks can set upper amount limits,frequency of transactions per period limits, or otherwise invalidate,restrict or block for withdrawals and/or deposits of CBDC.

Moreover, because PCBs maintain nodes of the consortium blockchain, inthe event a user loses the device hosting their digital wallet, the PCBmay with certainty restore the user's digital wallet (including allbalances and transaction history associated therewith) onto a new device(subject to authentication, verification, validation requirements, etc.imposed by the PCB and/or consortium). Similarly, PCBs may be configuredwith the ability to lock a digital wallet (based on predefined criteria)or otherwise restrict the ability of the digital wallet to engage intransactions on the network. Similarly, customers may sync their digitalwallets with the PCBs' ATM or bank wallet or bank teller to convert orexchange an amount of CBDC currency into/for (a) physical fiat cashcorresponding to or issued in the same jurisdiction as the type of CBDCbeing converted/exchanged (e.g., converting USD-CBDC into USD-fiatcash), (b) electronic fiat currency (i.e., an electronic representationof fiat cash, which may be represented in an electronically viewableaccount held by a PCB) corresponding to the type of CBDC beingconverted/exchanged (e.g., converting USD-CBDC into an electronicrepresentation of USD-fiat), (c) a type of CBDC that is of a differenttype or issued from a different jurisdiction than at least some of theCBDC being converted/exchanged (e.g., converting USD-CBDC intoEuro-CBDC), (d) a type of fiat currency that is of a different type orissued from a different jurisdiction than at least some of the CBDCbeing converted/exchanged (e.g., converting USD-CBDC into Euro-fiat),(e) a type of private cryptocurrency not issued by any central bank(e.g., such as exchanging USD-CBDC into an amount of anothercryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), or (f) any combinationof the foregoing. In some embodiments, the reverse may also beachievable. That is, customers may present physical fiat cash to the PCBthrough a PCB's ATM or bank teller to convert or exchange physical fiatcash (or may sync their digital wallets with the PCBs' ATM or bankwallet or bank teller to convert or exchange an amount of electronicfiat cash) into/for (a) CBDC corresponding to or issued in the samejurisdiction as the type of physical or electronic fiat beingconverted/exchanged (e.g., converting USD-fiat cash into USD-CBDC), (b)electronic fiat currency (if what is being presented by the customer forconversion is physical fiat) or physical fiat currency (if what is beingpresented by the customer for conversion is electronic fiat)corresponding to the type of currency being converted/exchanged (e.g.,converting physical USD-fiat into an electronic representation ofUSD-fiat, or vice versa), (c) a type of CBDC that is of a different typeor issued from a different jurisdiction than at least some of the fiatbeing converted/exchanged (e.g., converting USD-fiat into Euro-CBDC),(d) a type of fiat currency that is of a different type or issued from adifferent jurisdiction than at least some of the fiat currency beingconverted/exchanged (e.g., converting USD-fiat into Euro-fiat), (e) atype of cryptocurrency not issued by any central bank (e.g., such asexchanging USD-fiat into an amount of a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin,Ethereum, etc.), or (f) any combination of the foregoing.

In some embodiments, PCBs can set upper amount limits, set frequency oftransactions per period limits, or otherwise invalidate, restrict orblock any of the aforementioned conversions/exchanges (e.g., block orrestrict CBDC-to-fiat conversions/exchanges, fiat-to-CBDCconversions/exchanges, CBDC-to-CBDC conversions/exchanges, CBDC-to-othercryptocurrency conversions/exchanges, and other cryptocurrency-to-CBDCconversions/exchanges, etc.). Participating PCBs and/or central banksmay establish or otherwise define “alert” conditions such thattransactions requests satisfying certain criteria will trigger an alertto be sent to a designated entity. For example, a central bank mayestablish an “alert” condition that triggers an alert to be transmittedto central bank when an account-based transaction exceeds a particularamount of CBDC or fiat currency equivalent. Similarly, a PCB mayestablish an “alert” condition that triggers an alert to be transmittedto a PCB security authority when a cash-based transaction exceeds aparticular amount of CBDC or fiat currency equivalent.

In some embodiments, digital wallets of the present disclosure mayimplement or otherwise embody all of the technologies disclosed inconnection with digital wallets described in U.S. application Ser. Nos.16/920,340, 16/920,372, and 16/920,388 (including but not limited topayee initiated transfers, payer initiated transfers, nodefunctionality, operative coupling with payee banking institutions fordirect transfers, digital wallet locking, digital wallet restoration,digital wallet based transactions via TOT technology (with later accountsyncing), offline transactability (with later account syncing), debitcard linking, credit card linking, multi-card linking, biometricauthentication, prioritized account selection and processing), and maysubmit any and all such transactions for processing on a consortiumblockchain or subchain blockchain of the present disclosure as may bedesirable in accordance herewith.

In some embodiments a digital wallet of the present disclosure mayinclude a network participant's CBDC token holdings (which may, in someinstances, have been sourced from CBDC based loans, CBDC based creditcards, CBDC based debit cards, any and all of which may be linked to thedigital wallet (or multiple digital wallets) of the present disclosure).Digital wallets of the present disclosure may be further configured toprovide management functionality, alone or in coordination with otherresources within the domestic and/or cross-border blockchain transactionnetworks of the present disclosure, such as transferring, converting,sending (e.g., in response to a payee initiated transaction), receiving(e.g., in response to a payer initiated transaction), releasing,exchanging, depositing, withdrawing, moving, securing or otherwiseoperating on CBDC, private cryptocurrency funds and/or fiat funds uponrequest. For example, a digital wallet may be configured to transferCBDC into a digital wallet of another participant's as part of atransaction, and/or receive tokens from another participant's digitalwallet as part of a transaction, and/or redeem CBDC for fiat currencywith appropriate consortium or subchain nodes, and/or receive tokensfrom appropriate consortium or subchain nodes in exchange for fiatcurrency and/or as part of a CBDC based credit line (which may, in someembodiments, be connected to a token based loan, as described in U.S.application Ser. No. 16/820,661, which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety). A digital wallet of the present disclosure mayalso be configured to effectuate a release or transfer of CBDC intoanother digital wallet, effectuate an exchange of CBDC for fiat cash,effectuate an exchange of fiat cash for CBDC, effectuate an exchange ofone CBDC for another CBDC, effectuate a deposit of CBDC, effectuate awithdrawal of CBDC, and so on in connection with one or more digitalwallets and/or the accounts linked thereto (e.g., deposit accounts,credit accounts, check accounts, etc.).

In some embodiments, a digital wallet may comprise a mobile (e.g., iOSor Android based) or desktop (e.g., PC or Mac based) app that stores oneor more CBDCs. A given digital wallet may (i) be linked to accounts heldat different issuing banks (ii) comprise or have access to one or moreCBDCs of any type (USD-CBDCs, Euro-CBDCs, etc.). A digital wallet of thepresent disclosure may store the various CBDCs it receives from otheraccounts or digital wallets and may be utilized to pay or otherwisetransfer CBDC to other network participants (including other banks suchas PCBs or NPBs). A digital wallet of the present disclosure may beconfigured to operate a digital wallet application configured to store,pay and/or receive different CBDCs issued by various central banks, andfurther to store a user identification object (e.g., a photo, a name, anavatar, a thumbnail, or other user ID object associated with the ownerof the digital wallet), a wallet address (sometimes referred to hereinas a Wallet ID). The digital wallet application may further beconfigured intelligently select the payment method (e.g., select among aplurality of optional CBDCs and/or fiats, or credit lines of suchcurrencies) for a given transaction. A digital wallet can further beconfigured to receive receipts, enter data, provide confirmations (e.g.,signatures), scan or sync codes, and/or receive feedbacks as to whetheror not a payment for a proposed transaction was successful or failed.

A digital wallet of the present disclosure may be configured toauthenticate a user using stored or otherwise accessible authenticationinformation (e.g., biometric information, PIN numbers, Wallet ID).Moreover, a digital wallet of the present disclosure may be configuredto confirm a transaction using stored or otherwise accessibleauthentication information (e.g., biometric information, PIN numbers,Wallet ID). A digital wallet of the present disclosure may be configuredto scan, read, receive, collect, store, compare, and/or distributebiometric information (e.g., fingerprint information, retinalinformation, facial feature information, voice information, otherbiometric features) for one or more users to enable verificationcomparisons to enable such authentication. In such embodiments,authentication information may enhance privacy and detect/preventattempted fraudulent activity. It should be noted that biometricsinformation for network participants may be stored (i) directly withinthe consortium and/or subchain blockchain(s) such that authenticationinitiated by the relevant digital wallet may be performed by and/orbased on the information stored in the relevant blockchain, and/or (ii)locally within such that authentication initiated by digital walletcomponent may be performed by and/or based on the information stored incomputing device registered with and/or connected to the network (e.g.,the mobile device that the digital wallet is downloaded onto).

In some embodiments, a digital wallet of the present disclosure may beconfigured to include or be operatively coupled with Bluetooth® or otherTOT communication capabilities to enable transacting with, syncing with,or otherwise reading information from other digital wallets.

Furthermore, a digital wallet of the present disclosure may beconfigured to execute code to lock CBDC tokens, or allow an associatedPCB or central bank to lock tokens, in an amount sufficient to support aproposed transaction, etc. In some embodiments, a digital wallet of thepresent disclosure may be further configured to execute code that causesthe system to refund, release, receive, transfer, lock, and/or send anamount of CBDC tokens to another network participant's digital wallet.In some embodiments, a digital wallet may further be configured toexecute code to provide balance reporting after one or more transactionshas occurred involving tokens (e.g., CBDCs or other cryptocurrencies)managed by the digital wallet component, which may be accessible orviewable via a user device or other device within the domestic and/orcross-border blockchain transaction networks of the present disclosure.In some embodiments, a digital wallet component may further beconfigured to facilitate back-up (e.g., periodic back-up, on demandback-up, or one-time back-up) for later restoration by the associatednetwork participant as needed (e.g., if the given network loses theirsmartphone hosting the digital wallet app).

As referred to above, and also as shown in FIG. 1, each PCB 100 a-100 fmay maintain their own subchain(s). Subchain(s) may be hosted by asingle PCB but may be communicatively coupled with the subchains ofother PCBs and configured to process (1) transactions between digitalwallets within the same PCB, (2) transactions between digital walletswithin two partnering PCBs in the same consortium, and (3) transactionsbetween a digital wallet of a customers of a PCB and the digital walletor account of the PCB (e.g., deposits, withdrawals, exchanges, etc.).Digital wallets coupled with different subchains may be configured totransact with each other via a cross-subchain transaction that occursover the subchain network, while settlement between the associated PCBsmay occur (simultaneously or at a later time) through consortium chain.

With regard to transactions between customers of PCB and the PCB itself(e.g., deposits, withdrawals, exchanges, etc.) using a digital wallet.The subchain blockchain hosted by the PCB may be configured to executetransactions in any amount, even fractional amounts (amounts less thanthe smallest unit of the CBDC, e.g., a portion of a token).Additionally, PCBs may process transactions between internal accountsvia the subchain blockchain (the same subchain blockchain that is usedfor digital wallet cash-based transactions initiated by its customers).Significantly, non-PCBs or NPB may partner with a PCB (e.g., through anaccount, digital wallet, or API connection with the partner PCB), andinitiating a request for the PCB to process the transaction on thesubchain blockchain on its behalf. Additional detail and illustrationsof such digital wallet based transactions are provided in greater detailwith reference to FIGS. 4A-4C.

Additionally, as reflected in FIG. 1, the subchain blockchain of theparticipating commercial blockchain may couple with the consortiumblockchain, and may, as may be desired, process intrabank digital wallettransactions. The network may be configured to permit such intrabankdigital wallet transactions for the same or different customers (e.g.,users, merchants, NPBs, etc.) that are members of the same or differentPCBs (or partnering NPBs). This involves a transfer CBDC between digitalwallets hosted on respective subchains, followed by settlement of fundsacross the corresponding accounts via the consortium chain. Forinstance, where a PCB hosts nodes for multiple different types of CBDC,the PCB may run multiple CBDC transactions on the same subchainblockchain by coupling (or internally transitioning) such transactionsto the nodes for respective consortium chains for the different types ofcurrencies CBDCs involved. Alternatively, a PCB may host discretesubchain blockchain(s) for different types of CBDC. In such cases, wherea PCB hosts nodes for multiple different types of CBDC, the PCB may rundiffering currency transactions on the different respective subchainblockchain(s) by coupling the subchain blockchain(s) for respectivetransactions with the nodes for the respective consortium blockchainscorresponding to the different types of CBDC currencies being transactedin. A PCB may maintain multiple subchain blockchains comprising a set ofsubchain blockchains that correspond to a single type of CBDC. A set ofsubchain blockchains may be utilized in concert, for example, to enhanceprocessing speeds and reliability through load balancing and/ordistributed processing arrangements (e.g., by applyinggeo-specific/region-specific subchain architectures and processingregimes (discussed above), customer-specific/transaction-specificsubchain architectures and processing regimes (discussed above), and thelike). Similarly, a PCB may maintain a single subchain blockchain thatcorresponds to multiple types of CBDC. In short, the same PCB canmaintain one or more subchains dedicated to processing transactionsinvolving the same type of CBDC and/or one or more subchains dedicatedto processing transactions involving different types of CBDCs.

As noted previously, in some embodiments a customer's digital wallet maylink with one PCB. In such implementations, transactions involvingdigital wallets linked to different PCBs can be processed withcross-chain settlements. A cross chain transaction and settlementbetween a payer and payee participating in the network may involve anumber of steps, including (1) the payer's PCB's subchain blockchainvalidates the payer and the payer's balance, (2) the payer signs andsends a command to cause the payer's PCB's subchain blockchain totransfer a designated amount of CBDC from the payer's digital wallet tothe payee's digital wallet, (3) the payer's PCB's subchain blockchaindebits the payers digital wallet and/or account balance, (4) the payee'sPCB's subchain blockchain credits the payee's CBDC balance in thepayee's digital wallet and/or account, and (5) the payer's PCB thensettles the transaction by sending the designated amount of CBDC overconsortium chain periodically (at any predefined interval or timeperiod).

Referring still to FIG. 1, with enhanced transaction capabilities comesenhanced need for tailored visibility, transparency, and privacy withinthe domestic or cross-border blockchain transaction networks of thepresent disclosure. Smart contracts may be utilized to execute and/orotherwise govern the execution of transactions submitted for processingon the domestic or cross-border blockchain transaction networks of thepresent disclosure. Central banks may query the smart contracts used inor for a transaction or series of transactions.

In some embodiments, each jurisdiction (e.g., each country) may have itsown smart contract, and may mandate that transactions located within thejurisdiction, involving participants located within the jurisdiction,and/or involving CBDC issued within the jurisdiction be executed, inwhole or in part, in accordance with the smart contract. Such smartcontracts may be defined to give the central bank exercising controlover currencies within the given jurisdiction to have visibility intothe transactions involving the jurisdiction's smart contract (i.e.,transactions meeting the criteria which, when met, impose therequirement for the smart contract to be used in the execution of thetransaction on the network). In some implementations, each jurisdictionhave imposed an obligation on PCBs to process transactions pursuant toone or more smart contracts that limit or enable certain visibilitypermissions. For example, smart contracts may be leveraged to controlvisibility into various transactions taking place in the domestic and/orcross-border blockchain transaction networks of the present disclosure,including based on various criteria, any and all rules and criteria thatmay be desirable for a given deployment may be utilized. That is, smartcontracts may be used in various capacities within the network, and inmany instances may govern the visibility of a given transaction tocertain entities/parties. For example, and without limiting theforegoing, in some embodiments network transactions that utilize aparticular type of CBDC may be required to be executed pursuant to asmart contract that permits or prohibits any one or more of (or anycombination of) the following to have visibility into the transaction:(1) the central bank that minted or issued the CBDC involved in thetransaction, (2) central banks that did not mint or issue the CBDCinvolved in the transaction, (3) the central bank that minted or issuedthe fiat-currency used to purchase the CBDC involved in the transaction,(4) central banks that did not mint or issue the fiat-currency used topurchase the CBDC involved in the transaction, (5) the central bankgoverning the jurisdiction where the payee's account is held, (6)central banks that do not govern the jurisdiction where the payee'saccount is held, (7) the central bank governing the jurisdiction wherethe payer's account is held, (8) central banks that do not govern thejurisdiction where the payer's account is held, (9) the PCBs in the samejurisdiction as the central bank that minted the CBDC involved in thetransaction, (10) the PCBs that are not in the same jurisdiction as thecentral bank that minted the CBDC involved in the transaction, (11) thePCBs in the same jurisdiction as the central bank that minted thefiat-currency used to purchase the CBDC involved in the transaction,(12) the PCBs that are not in the same jurisdiction as the central bankthat minted the fiat-currency used to purchase the CBDC involved in thetransaction, (13) the PCBs in the same jurisdiction as the central bankgoverning the jurisdiction where the payee's account is held, (14) thePCBs that are not in the same jurisdiction as the central bank governingthe jurisdiction where the payee's account is held, (15) the PCBs in thesame jurisdiction as the central bank governing the jurisdiction wherethe payer's account is held, (16) the PCBs that are not in the samejurisdiction as the central bank governing the jurisdiction where thepayer's account is held, (17) NPBs in the same jurisdiction as thecentral bank that minted the CBDC involved in the transaction, (18) NPBsthat are not in the same jurisdiction as the central bank that mintedthe CBDC involved in the transaction, (19) NPBs that have partnered witha PCB in the same jurisdiction as the central bank that minted thefiat-currency used to purchase the CBDC involved in the transaction,(20) NPBs that have partnered with a PCB that is not in the samejurisdiction as the central bank that minted the fiat-currency used topurchase the CBDC involved in the transaction, (21) NPBs that havepartnered with a PCB in the same jurisdiction as the central bankgoverning the jurisdiction where the payee's account is held, (22) NPBsthat have partnered with a PCB that is not in the same jurisdiction asthe central bank governing the jurisdiction where the payee's account isheld, (23) NPBs in the same jurisdiction as the central bank governingthe jurisdiction where the payer's account is held, (24) NPBs that havepartnered with a PCB that is not in the same jurisdiction as the centralbank governing the jurisdiction where the payer's account is held, (25)the PCB associated with the payee's account, (26) PCBs that are notassociated with the payee's account used in the transaction, (27) thePCB associated with the payer's account, (28) PCBs that are notassociated with the payer's account used in the transaction, (29) thepayee, (30) the payer, (31) the central bank whose fiat currency backsthe CBDC used in the transaction, (32) the central banks whose fiatcurrency was not used to back the CBDC used in the transaction.

For example, a transaction between central bank and a given PCB mayutilize a smart contract that may limit visibility into the transactionto the central bank and the given PCB, but may block, prohibit, orrestrict visibility of other PCBs and/or other central banks. In anotherexample, a transaction between a first PCB and a second PCB may utilizea smart contract that may limit visibility into the transaction to thefirst and second PCBs and the central bank that minted the CBDC used inthe transaction, but may block, prohibit, or restrict visibility ofother PCBs and/or other central banks. In another example, a transactionbetween a first PCB and a second PCB may utilize a smart contract thatmay limit visibility into the transaction to the first PCB and/or secondPCB and the central banks that exercise control over the respectivejurisdictions within which one of the accounts held by the first andsecond PCBs are located, but may block, prohibit, or restrict visibilityof other PCBs and/or other central banks.

Smart contracts may also be used to facilitate intra-border transactionsand/or bridge cross-border transactions, examples of which areillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C. Reference numerals in FIGS. 2A-2C correspondto the same reference numerals presented in connection with FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A illustrates the nodes of an example CBDC consortium chain (e.g.,a US-CBDC consortium chain) involved in an example cross-bordertransaction—one node 110 a (or one set of nodes 110 a) hosted by aserver of a first PCB in a first jurisdiction (e.g. PCB 100 a located inthe United States), one node 110 f (or one set of nodes 110 f) hosted bya server of a second PCB in a second jurisdiction (e.g. PCB 100 flocated in the Europe), one node 110-CB (or one set of nodes 110-CB)hosted by server of a the United States Central Bank 102 (which is inthe same jurisdiction as PCB 100 a but not of PCB 100 f). In theillustrated example, suppose a customer of PCB 100 a wishes to transactwith a customer of PCB 100 f, for example. In such a scenario, a firstsmart contract may be utilized between node(s) 110 a of PCB 100 a (inthe first jurisdiction) and node(s) 110 a-CB of the central bank 102(also in the first jurisdiction), followed by a second smart contractbetween node(s) 110-CB of the central bank 102 (in the firstjurisdiction) and node(s) 110 f of PCB 100 f (in the secondjurisdiction).

FIG. 2B illustrates the nodes of an example CBDC consortium chain (e.g.,a US-CBDC consortium chain) involved in another example cross-bordertransaction—one node 110 a (or one set of nodes 110 a) hosted by aserver of a first PCB in a first jurisdiction (e.g. PCB 100 a located inthe United States), one node 110 f (or one set of nodes 110 f) hosted bya server of a second PCB in a second jurisdiction (e.g. PCB 100 flocated in Europe), one node 122-CB (or one set of nodes 110-CB) hostedby server of the European Central Bank 104 (which is in a differentjurisdiction than PCB 100 a but in the same jurisdiction as PCB 100 f).In the illustrated example, suppose a customer of PCB 100 a wishes totransact with a customer of PCB 100 f, for example. In such a scenario,a first smart contract may be utilized between node(s) 110 a of PCB 100a (in the first jurisdiction) and node(s) 122-CB of the central bank 104(in the second jurisdiction), followed by a second smart contractbetween node(s) 122-CB of the central bank 104 (in the secondjurisdiction) and node(s) 110 f of PCB 100 f (in the secondjurisdiction).

FIG. 2C illustrates the nodes of an example CBDC consortium chain (e.g.,a US-CBDC consortium chain) involved in another example cross-bordertransaction—one node 110 a (or one set of nodes 110 a) hosted by aserver of a first PCB in a first jurisdiction (e.g. PCB 100 a located inthe United States), one node 110 c (or one set of nodes 110 c) hosted bya server of a second PCB in the first jurisdiction (e.g. PCB 100 clocated in the United States), one node 122-CB (or one set of nodes110-CB) hosted by server of the European Central Bank 104 (which is in adifferent jurisdiction than both PCB 100 a and PCB 100 c). In theillustrated example, suppose a customer of PCB 100 a wishes to transactwith a customer of PCB 100 c using CBDC issued by European Central Bank104 in the second jurisdiction, for example. In such a scenario, a firstsmart contract may be utilized between node(s) 110 a of PCB 100 a (inthe first jurisdiction) and node(s) 122-CB of the central bank 104 (inthe second jurisdiction), followed by a second smart contract betweennode(s) 122-CB of the central bank 104 (in the second jurisdiction) andnode(s) 110 c of PCB 100 c (in the first jurisdiction).

By utilizing smart contracts, including as in the examples referenced inFIGS. 2A-2C, various levels of visibility and transparency may beachievable for a range of purposes. For instance, a central bank may beenabled to monitor the type of CBDC it has minted and/or issued foraccount-based transactions in domestic and foreign jurisdictions,including transactions with foreign participating PCBs and NPB s and/orforeign central banks. Similarly, foreign central bank may be enabled tomonitor account-based transactions of foreign CBDC between accountswithin its own jurisdiction, and/or between accounts within its ownjurisdiction and accounts in other jurisdictions. For instance,utilizing the domestic and/or cross-border blockchain transactionnetworks of the present disclosure, the U.S. Central Bank may monitorUSD-CBDC transactions that occur between accounts (or involve at leastone account) within the U.S. (and, in some embodiments, throughout oneor more other countries and/or the entire world). Similarly, by way ofanother instance, the E.U. Central Bank may monitor USD-CBDCtransactions that occur between accounts (or involve at least oneaccount) within the E.U. (and, in some embodiments, any transactionswith the E.U.).

By governing visibility of different players in the domestic and/orcross-border blockchain transaction networks of the present disclosure,a central bank that has minted/issued a particular type of CBDC maymonitor circulation of that CBDC, and may implement controls and alertsthat prevent undesirable situations (e.g., a bank run). For instance, acentral bank may limit the amount of CBDC it will issue to, exchangewith, or receive from any given PCB (or group of PCBs) on a per daybasis, per month basis, per transaction basis, on an account specificbasis, or other criteria. In another example, a central bank may limitthe amount of CBDC it will permit to be transferred in a singletransaction, in a single day, from a single account, or other criteria,on a per day basis, per month basis, per transaction basis, orotherwise. In another example, a central bank may block certaintransactions between certain PCBs and/or between certain bankaccounts/wallets.

Transaction privacy may be implemented by setting up one or morespecific smart contracts between the PCBs relevant to a giventransaction (which may be on top of, or an alternative to, the smartcontract imposed by the relevant central bank) such that third parties(e.g., another PCB) cannot see one or more transaction details.

It should be understood that smart contracts may be used more granularlythan to merely block one or more network participants from seeing thefull transaction. For example, in some instances a smart contract mayimpose a progressive restriction regime or an otherwise tailoredvisibility regime. For instance, the smart contract may be configured tomake certain transaction details visible to some PCBs but not others, ormay make progressively fewer details visible to all other PCBs as moretime passes (e.g., all information visible for 0-24 hours after thetransaction settles, recipient and sender information (but no amountinformation) visible for 24-48 hours after the transaction settles, andno information visible thereafter). It should be appreciated, however,that in the embodiments reference above where each jurisdiction (e.g.,each country) has its own smart contract, the smart contracts may beconfigured to permit the corresponding central bank retain unlimitedvisibility into the full contract details of a given transaction(meeting the requirements that mandated use of the smart contract), butat the same time may impose progressive restriction regimes as to othernetwork participants (e.g., imposing progressive restriction regimes asto PCBs, payers, payees, other central banks, etc.).

In addition to smart contracts, or as an alternative to smart contracts,transactions processed on the domestic or cross-border blockchainnetwork may be encrypted to maintain privacy among and/or between PCBs.Further enhancing privacy, and although account-based and/or cash-basedtransactions may be processed and/or settled in real time or near realtime in the accurate amounts, transactions may in some implementationsbe processed in batches or in multiple smaller amounts that sum up tothe accurate amount (but are each on their own not the full accurateamount) as a way to provide further account privacy and reduce the loadon the blockchain processing resources. Batch processing and/or splitamount processing may further protect privacy for customers transactionsand reduce computing load. For instance, batch processing may make itimpossible for other parties to determine which transaction details(e.g., senders, amounts, etc.) in a batch correspond to the othertransaction details (e.g., recipients, amounts, etc.).

Referring back now to FIG. 1, PCB 100 a-100 f may include respective PCBphysical or virtual access points (not shown). An access point for agiven PCB is a physical or virtual location where the bank's customersmay purchase or sell CBDC from or to the PCB (which may involve a fee).Such access points are contemplated to take on many forms, withoutlimitation, for enabling users to obtain CBDC with which to transact onthe domestic and/or cross-border transaction network. For instance, anaccess point may take the form of an ATM machine wherein a user maydeposit cash to the PCB in exchange for CBDC. In another example, anaccess point may take the form of a bank branch location wherein a usermay transfer fiat cash or other acceptable forms of money from accountto the teller at the PCB in exchange for a deposit of CBDC into theuser's digital wallet. In another example, a user may simply leveragethe PCBs legacy network (e.g., via their normal banking web portal) toexchange fiat-currency for a CBDC deposit into their digital wallet (orto an account associated with their digital wallet). Similarly, a usermay cash out their CBDC at such access points by initiating an exchangeof their CBDC holdings for an equivalent amount of fiat currency.

Central banks may deploy their own access points through which PCBswithin their jurisdiction may be issued CBDC and whereby the centralbank may put additional CBDC into circulation. A central bank may, forexample, may maintain a general digital wallet through which it mayissue (i.e., transfer) CBDC into an account or digital wallet of a PCB.The central bank may make a digital wallet application available torespective PCBs, and may permit such PCBs to issue requests andotherwise transact with the central bank's general digital wallet viathe consortium chain or through the central banks legacy system (e.g.,via an API call made through the PCB's digital wallet). Alternatively, acentral bank may maintain one private digital wallet for each PCB,through which it may issue (i.e., transfer) CBDC into an account/digitalwallet of each respective PCB. The central bank may make a digitalwallet application available to respective PCBs, and may permit suchPCBs to issue requests and otherwise transact with the central bank'sprivate digital wallet (corresponding to a given PCB) via the consortiumchain or through the central banks legacy system (e.g., via an API callmade through the PCB's digital wallet).

Referring still to FIG. 1, account-based transactions between PCBs(which may be on their own behalf, or on behalf of the PCB's customerssuch as human clients, companies or other business concerns,organizations such as government organizations or educational systems,other banks, or other entities) may be processed on a consortium chain110 or consortium chain 120. The domestic and/or cross-border blockchaintransaction networks of the present disclosure may be configured tosettle account-based transactions on a consortium blockchain on (1) aper-transaction and continuous basis (i.e., as soon as possible for eachtransaction), (2) on a per-transaction and periodic basis (i.e., inpredefined intervals, e.g., every 30 seconds, every minute, every 5minutes, every 10 minutes, every hour, every day, etc.), (3) on a batchsettlement and continuous basis (i.e., as soon as possible for batchesof simultaneously or near simultaneously executed transactions), and (4)on a batch settlement and periodic basis (i.e., in intervals for batchesof transactions executed within the interval, e.g., every 30 seconds,every minute, every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, every hour, every day,etc.).

Similarly, cash-based transactions between digital wallets (or accounts)of PCBs may be processed on a respective subchain blockchain 112 a-112f, 122 a-122 f, depending on which PCBs hold the payer's and payee'sdigital wallets that are involved in the given transaction (or that holdthe payers and payee's accounts where the transaction is of a smallamount not exceeding a predefined threshold, and which may therefore beprocessed on a respective subchain blockchain). The domestic and/orcross-border blockchain transaction networks of the present disclosuremay be configured to settle such cash-based transactions on a “subchain”blockchain on (1) a per-transaction and continuous basis (i.e., as soonas possible for each transaction, which for subchain blockchainprocessing may be in real time or near real-time), (2) on aper-transaction and periodic basis (i.e., in predefined intervals, e.g.,every 30 seconds, every minute, every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, everyhour, every day, etc.), (3) on a batch settlement and continuous basis(i.e., as soon as possible for batches of simultaneously or nearsimultaneously executed transactions), and (4) on a batch settlement andperiodic basis (i.e., in intervals for batches of transactions executedwithin the interval, e.g., every 30 seconds, every minute, every 5minutes, every 10 minutes, every hour, every day, etc.).

When settling transactions, there may be certain relationship ortransaction-based incentives to process and settle certain transactionsover others. In connection with these incentives, PCBs (and/or centralbanks) may impose any desired or agreed upon prioritization to thesettlement of submitted/incoming transaction processing requests. Forinstance, certain types of (or all) cash-based transactions can also beprioritized for settlement over certain types of (or all) interbankaccount-based transactions.

Similarly, when settling transactions, there may be certain computingresource incentives to process and settle certain transactions on thePCB's legacy transaction system instead of the consortium blockchain,and then later update the consortium blockchain with the relevanttransaction details that would otherwise exist had the transaction beenprocessed and settled via the consortium blockchain. Such incentives mayinclude network load balancing and parallel computing efficiencyincentives, depending on network usage at an given moment. In connectionwith these incentives, PCBs (and/or central banks) may impose anydesired or agreed upon prioritization to the settlement ofsubmitted/incoming transaction processing requests. For instance,certain types of (or all) interbank account-based transactions can alsobe prioritized for settlement on the legacy transaction system (to theextent possible) if the processing load on the consortium blockchainexceeds a predefined threshold. In another example, certain types of (orall) cash-based transactions can also be prioritized for settlement onthe legacy transaction system (to the extent possible) if the processingload on the PCB's “subchain” blockchain exceeds a predefined threshold.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the domestic and/orcross-border transaction network may be configured to enable customersto engage in transactions involving foreign currency exchanges over theconsortium blockchain without having to take many of the steps involvedin the conventional processes. FIGS. 3A-3C illustrates simplified viewsof the architecture illustrated in FIG. 1, with focus more specificallyon PCBs 100 a and 100 f for purposes of description concerning foreignexchanges that may occur via one or more consortium chains. Referencenumerals in FIGS. 3A-3C correspond to the same reference numeralspresented in connection with FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A illustrates a simplified view of an example system and methodfor direct foreign currency exchange in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, PCB 100 a and PCB 100 feach host a node of a first type CBDC consortium blockchain 110 and alsohosting a node of a second type CBDC consortium blockchain 120. PCB 100a is understood to be located in a first jurisdiction (e.g., the UnitedStates) where the central bank for that jurisdiction mints and puts intocirculation CBDC of a first type. Similarly, PCB 100 f is in a secondjurisdiction where the central bank for that jurisdiction mints and putsinto circulation CBDC of a second type. For simplicity in thisnonlimiting example, other elements, entities, and connections that maybe present in a domestic and/or cross-border blockchain transactionnetwork are not shown. PCB 100 a and PCB 100 f may process one or moretransactions (which may be viewed as a series of partial transactions or“sub-transactions”) to achieve (or allow its customers to achieve) atransaction that involves a foreign currency exchange on the consortiumblockchains comprised in a domestic and/or cross-border blockchaintransaction network. Although examples are provided herein illustratingwhere PCB 100 a and 100 f are in different jurisdictions, the sameprocesses may also be carried out even as between PCBs in the samejurisdiction, such as between PCB 100 a and 100 b, for example.

By way of an illustrative example, suppose that PCB 100 a is a bank inthe United States where the U.S. Federal central bank has minted andissued to PCB 100 a a repository of distributable USD-CBDC. Similarly,suppose that PCB 100 f is a bank in France where the European CentralBank has minted and issued to PCB 100 f a repository of distributableEuro-CBDC. To exchange an amount of USD-CBDC currency into Euro-CBDCcurrency, using the disclosed technology the PCB 100 a need not make atraditional transfer (or wire transfer) of USD-fiat currency (USDollars) to PCB 100 f and await settlement of the transaction among PCB100 a in the US and a deposit of Euro-CBDC from PCB 100 f. Instead, PCB100 a may process the foreign currency exchange directly with PCB 100 fover the consortium chain technology in one of at least two ways.

First, if PCB 100 a has set up an individual account (as a customer)with PCB 100 f, then the following process may take place. PCB 100 fdebits (from PCB 100 a's USD-fiat account or USD-CBDC digital wallet)USD-fiat or USD-CBDC from PCB 100 a in the designated amount. Next (orsimultaneously), PCB 100 f then credits (into PCB 100 a's Euro accountor Euro digital wallet) an amount of Euro's at the designated exchangerate to PCB 100 a. Next (or simultaneously), PCB 100 f debits (from itsown Euro-fiat account or Euro-CBDC digital wallet) the designated amountof Euro-CBDC from PCB 100 f. Next (or simultaneously), PCB 100 f credits(into PCB 100 f's USD-fiat account or USD-CBDC digital wallet) theamount of USD-fiat or USD-CBDC. The aforementioned foreign currencyexchange may occur in accordance with a time-dependent dynamic exchangerate. PCB 100 f may impose a fee (imposing a spread) on PCB 100 a forthe foreign currency exchange it requested. If PCB 100 a has not set upan individual account (as a customer) with PCB 100 f, but is connectedto PCB 100 f through the consortium chains 110 and 120 for USD-CBDC andEuro-CBDC, respectively, both as PCBs, then the following process maytake place. PCB 100 a may issue a command to the US-CBDC consortiumblockchain 110 to debit an amount of USD-CBDC balance from its ownaccount or digital wallet and send/transfer the same to PCB 100 fthrough USD-CBDC consortium blockchain 110. Next (or simultaneously),the USD-CBDC consortium blockchain 110 a debits PCB 100 a's account ordigital wallet by the designated amount of USD-CBDC. Next (orsimultaneously), the USD-CBDC consortium blockchain 110 a credits PCB100 f's account or digital wallet in the designated amount of USD-CBDC.PCB 100 f reflects the USD-CBDC in its account or digital wallet. PCB100 f issues a command to the Euro-CBDC consortium blockchain 110 b todebit Euro-CBDC from PCB 100 f's account or digital wallet and sendsEuro-CBDC to PCB 100 a through the Euro-CBDC consortium blockchain 110b. The Euro-CBDC consortium blockchain 110 b debits PCB 100 f's walletand credits PCB 100 a's bank's wallet in the designated amount ofEuro-CBDC. PCB 100 a reflects the designated amount of Euro-CBDC intoPCB 100 a's Euro-CBDC wallet or account. As an alternative to using theconsortium blockchain for such exchanges, all or part of theaforementioned processes may occur via a legacy system of the PCB (e.g.,via a traditional wire exchange between accounts). The details oftransactions pushed onto a legacy system for processing may be syncedwith the relevant CBDC consortium blockchains to ensure such blockchainshave current visibility into the fiat and cryptocurrency holdings ofrespective members and other network participants (as may be allowed ordisallowed by the applicable smart contract).

FIG. 3B illustrates a simplified view of an example system and methodfor indirect foreign currency exchange or international money remittancein accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthe illustrated example, an account holding customer of PCB 100 a (orPCB 100 a itself through its own account) may perform an indirectforeign exchange of one type of CBDC from a first jurisdiction (e.g.,USD-CBDC) for another type of fiat currency local to anotherjurisdiction (e.g., Euro fiat currency). The Euro fiat currency may comefrom an account holding customer of a foreign PCB 100 f (or from PCB 100f itself through its own account). As shown, the USD CBDC Chain 110debits from customer A's account (or from PCB 100 a's own USD-CBDCaccount) the designated amount of USD-CBDC. Next (or simultaneously),USD CBDC Chain 110 then credits into PCB 100 f's USD-CBDC account thedesignated amount of US-CBDC. Next (or simultaneously) PCB 100 fexchanges the USD-CBDC into local fiat (e.g., Euro-fiat) at the currentexchange rate. Next (or simultaneously), if performing the exchange inconnection with customer B (as the payee), PCB 100 f debits theexchanged amount of Euro-fiat from its own Euro-fiat account and thencredits the same into customer B's Euro-fiat bank account. Theaforementioned foreign currency exchange may occur in accordance with atime-dependent dynamic exchange rate. PCB 100 f may impose a fee(imposing a spread) on PCB 100 a for the foreign currency exchange itrequested.

FIG. 3C illustrates a simplified view of an example system and anothermethod for indirect foreign currency exchange or internationalremittance in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In the illustrated example, an account holding customer ofPCB 100 a (or PCB 100 a itself through its own account) may perform anindirect foreign exchange of one type of fiat currency from a firstjurisdiction (e.g., Japanese Yen or JPY-fiat currency) for another typeof fiat currency local to another jurisdiction (e.g., Hong Kong Dollaror HKD-fiat currency) indirectly through a background exchange of CBDCcurrencies. The foreign currency (e.g., the HKD fiat currency in thisexample) that is ultimately obtained may come from an account holdingcustomer of a foreign PCB 100 f (or from PCB 100 f itself through itsown account). As shown, node 110 a of PCB 100 a debits from customer A'saccount (or from PCB 100 a's own JPY-fiat account) the designated amountof JPY-fiat. Next (or simultaneously), node 110 a of PCB 100 a exchangesthe JPY-fiat currency into USD-CBDC and deposits the USD-CBDC into PCB100 a's own USD-CBDC account. Next (or simultaneously), node 110 a ofPCB 100 a debits the amount of USD-CBDC currency from PCB 100 a's ownUSD-CBDC account and issues a transfer command to node 110 f of PCB 100f through the USD-CBDC consortium chain 110. Responsively, node 110 f ofPCB 100 f causes the designated amount of US-CBDC to be credited intoits own US-CBDC account. Next (or simultaneously), PCB 100 f thenexchanges the USD-CBDC into local fiat (e.g., HKD-fiat currency) at thecurrent foreign currency exchange rate. Next (or simultaneously), ifperforming the exchange in connection with customer B (as the payee),PCB 100 f debits the exchanged amount of HKD-fiat from its own HKD-fiataccount and then credits the same into customer B's HKD-fiat bankaccount. Again, the aforementioned foreign currency exchange may occurin accordance with a time-dependent dynamic exchange rate. PCB 100 f mayimpose a fee (imposing a spread) on PCB 100 a for the foreign currencyexchange it requested.

Although in some of the aforementioned examples, PCBs 100 a and 100 fthemselves initiating a request for such a foreign currency exchange, itshould be appreciated (especially with reference to “customers”throughout the foregoing descriptions) that the same processes may becarried out by the PCBs 100 a, 100 f on behalf of their respectivecustomers, including but not limited to those non-participating banksthat have partnered with the PCBs (i.e., NPBs), who may initiaterequests for such foreign currency exchanges through the account,digital wallet or API that communicatively couples such customers torespective PCBs.

Furthermore, and particularly in connection with FIGS. 3B-3C, incountries without CBDC currency and without the infrastructure tosupport the domestic and/or cross-border blockchain transaction networksof the present disclosure in their entirety, banking institutions insuch countries may become a node in the consortium chain (albeit only tohost consortium blockchains corresponding to CBDC issued by othercountries' central banks), and thereby issue calls (on behalf ofthemselves or their customers, which may include NPBs) to the consortiumchain and initiate an indirect conversion of local currency into anytype of CBDC (and vice versa) through a PCB's node, and similarlyconvert the CBDC it obtains into local currency through its legacytransaction network. Even if the non-participating bank does not host anode of any consortium chain, they may still establish a partnershipwith a PCB (e.g., through an API, digital wallet, account, or otherwise)to have such conversions conducted on its behalf.

Further still, if both the payee and payer in a given scenario hold bankaccounts in countries without the infrastructure to support the domesticand/or cross-border blockchain transaction networks of the presentdisclosure in their entirety, they may still transact using the domesticand/or cross-border blockchain transaction networks of the presentdisclosure by becoming a PCB, becoming an account holding member of acommercial bank that has formed a relationship/partnership with a PCB(such as an NPB), or themselves forming a partnership with a PCB. Insome embodiments, payer and payee may participate in the domestic and/orcross-border blockchain transaction networks of the present disclosureeither through its own local bank (which may host servers that operateas a node in the network (i.e., as a PCB) as explained above) or throughan NPB providing a digital wallet, account, or API connection to apartnering PCB that hosts a node of the domestic and/or cross-borderblockchain transaction networks of the present disclosure. Once inreceipt of the CBDC deposit into its digital wallet, the payee mayconvert such CBDC into local currency with its traditional local bankingnetwork, and vice versa. For example, A in A's country may wish toconvert or send payer A's country's fiat money into B in B's country'sfiat money. A gives A's bank A's country's fiat currency. A's bankconverts that fiat currency amount into CBDC issued by country C andsends (by itself or through its partner) country C's CBDC to B's bank(by itself or partner) in B's country, over CBDC blockchain managed bycountry C. B's bank then converts country C's CBDC to B's country's fiatmoney and gives to B.

Although FIGS. 3A-3C are discussed in the context where the two accounts(or digital wallets) between which the foreign currency exchange istaking place are held at different PCBs, the technology solutions of thepresent disclosure can also be carried out (and sometimes modified toachieve even greater efficiencies and/or reliability) where the accounts(and/or digital wallets) are held at the same PCB—for instance, wheretwo different customers both hold accounts with the same PCB, or where acustomer of a bank is engaging in an exchange with the PCB's own account(which it holds for itself). FIG. 3D illustrates a simplified view of anexample system and method for direct foreign currency exchange where thetwo parties involved have bank accounts (and/or digital wallets) withthe same PCB, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In this example, As shown, PCB 100 a hosts a node of a firsttype CBDC consortium blockchain 110 and also a node of a second typeCBDC consortium blockchain 120. PCB 100 a is understood to be located ina first jurisdiction (e.g., the United States) where the central bankfor that jurisdiction mints and puts into circulation CBDC of a firsttype. For simplicity in this nonlimiting example, other elements,entities, and connections that may be present in a domestic and/orcross-border blockchain transaction network are not shown. PCB 100 a mayprocess one or more transactions (which may be viewed as a series ofpartial transactions or “sub-transactions”) to achieve (or allow itscustomers to achieve) a transaction that involves a foreign currencyexchange on the consortium blockchains comprised in a domestic and/orcross-border blockchain transaction network.

By way of an illustrative example, suppose that PCB 100 a is a bank inthe United States where the U.S. Federal central bank has minted andissued to PCB 100 a a repository of distributable USD-CBDC. Similarly,suppose that PCB 100 a has a repository of distributable Euro-CBDC,and/or has partnered with one or more other PCBs through which it mayobtain Euro-CBDC over the Euro-CBDC consortium chain. For an accountholding member, A, of PCB 100 a to exchange an amount of USD-CBDCcurrency into Euro-CBDC currency, it may submit a request to PCB 100 aand PCB 100 a may execute the following process. PCB 100 a may processthe foreign currency exchange directly over the consortium chaintechnology of the present disclosure. To achieve this, PCB 100 a maycause USD-CBDC consortium chain 110 to debit (from A's USD-fiat accountor USD-CBDC digital wallet) USD-fiat or USD-CBDC from customer A in thedesignated amount. Next (or simultaneously), PCB 100 a debits (from itsown Euro-fiat account or Euro-CBDC digital wallet) a designated amountof Euro-CBDC at the designated exchange rate. Next (or simultaneously),PCB 100 a then credits (into A's Euro account or Euro digital wallet)the designated amount of Euro-CBDC. Next (or simultaneously), PCB 100 acredits (into its own USD-fiat account or USD-CBDC digital wallet) theamount of USD-fiat or USD-CBDC. The aforementioned foreign currencyexchange may occur in accordance with a time-dependent dynamic exchangerate. PCB 100 a may impose a fee (imposing a spread) on customer A forthe foreign currency exchange it requested.

A similar process may be carried out where customer A is wishing tocomplete the foreign currency exchange with another customer of PCB 100a (as opposed to exchanging the currency with PCB 100 a itself). Forinstance, for an account holding member, A, of PCB 100 a to exchange anamount of USD-CBDC currency into Euro-CBDC currency with another accountholding member, B, of PCB 100 a, customer A may submit a request to PCB100 a and PCB 100 a may execute the following process. PCB 100 a mayagain process the foreign currency exchange directly over the consortiumchain technology of the present disclosure, this time coordinatingdebits/credits from/to member B's account as well. To achieve this, PCB100 a may cause USD-CBDC consortium chain 110 to debit (from A'sUSD-fiat account or USD-CBDC digital wallet) USD-fiat or USD-CBDC fromcustomer A in the designated amount. Next (or simultaneously), PCB 100 acauses Euro-CBDC consortium chain 120 to debit (from customer B'sEuro-fiat account or Euro-CBDC digital wallet) a designated amount ofEuro-CBDC at the designated exchange rate. Next (or simultaneously), PCB100 a then credits (into A's Euro account or Euro digital wallet) thedesignated amount of Euro-CBDC. Next (or simultaneously), PCB 100 acredits (into customer B's USD-fiat account or USD-CBDC digital wallet)the amount of USD-fiat or USD-CBDC. The aforementioned foreign currencyexchange may occur in accordance with a time-dependent dynamic exchangerate. PCB 100 a may impose a fee (imposing a spread) on customer Aand/or customer B for the foreign currency exchange customer Arequested.

As an alternative to using the consortium blockchain for such exchangesinvolving either a member and the PCB it holds an account with, orinvolving two members of a single PCB, all or part of the aforementionedprocesses may occur via a legacy system of the PCB (e.g., via atraditional wire exchange between accounts). The details of transactionspushed onto a legacy system for processing may be synced with therelevant CBDC consortium blockchains to ensure such blockchains havecurrent visibility into the fiat and cryptocurrency holdings ofrespective members and other network participants (as may be allowed ordisallowed by the applicable smart contract).

Referring back now to FIG. 1, as noted previously a given PCB may host anumber of subchain blockchains configured for processing cash-basedtransactions. In some instances, however, situations arise wherebenefits arise from utilizing subchains and consortium chains to permitprompt processing of transactions on subchains while permitting certainsettlements to occur over the consortium chains. In some embodiments,cross-subchain transactions are also contemplated. The foregoing willnow be discussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate various transactions involving both subchains andconsortium chain operability. FIG. 4A illustrates a transaction whereina payer transfers CBDC from its own digital wallet into the digitalwallet of a payee's digital wallet. Though such transactions may beeither initiated by the payer or requested by the payee, in theillustrated scenario the payee B requests payment from the payer A bysending a communication from payee B's digital wallet to payer A'sdigital wallet (via a Wallet ID, an IP address, a handle, or otheridentifier) through the participants' respective PCB's subchains. Inparticular, subchain 112 b interprets the address identified in payeeB's request and responsively transmits a notification to payer A'sdigital wallet. The notification including the request may be providedto payer A's digital wallet either through (1) subchain 112 b, (2)subchain 112 a, (3) both subchain 112 a and subchain 112 b, and/or (4)main chain 110. Payer A may approve the request upon receiving thenotification through his/her digital wallet. Upon approval, subchain 112a may determine (based on the received wallet address) if payee B (theowner of the digital wallet that is supposed to receive funds) is amember or otherwise belongs to subchain 112 a. If so, subchain 112 awill determine if payer A's digital wallet has a sufficient balance tosatisfy the request from payee B. If subchain 112 a determines thatPayer A has a sufficient balance to support the requested payment toPayee B, subchain 112 a will debit Payer A's wallet the amount of theCBDC request (optionally, with an additional fee) and credit Payee B'sdigital wallet with the requested amount of CBDC (optionally, less anadditional fee). If, on the other hand, subchain 112 a determines thatpayee B (the owner of the digital wallet that is supposed to receivefunds) is not a member of PCB 100 a, and is instead only a member of PCB100 b (and assuming that PCB 100 a and 100 b are different banks),subchain 112 a will determine which PCB the payee B belongs to (or whichsubchain Payee B's wallet belongs to) based on the address of Payee B'sdigital wallet. Once identified, subchain 112 a will determine if PayeeA's digital wallet has a sufficient balance to satisfy the request fromPayee B. If so, subchain 112 a will debit Payer A's digital wallet bythe requested amount of CBDC, and then transmit a notification to PCB110 b (through coupling of subchain 112 a and subchain 112 b, orconsortium chain 110) to cause a credit to be temporarily made intoPayee B's digital wallet. Thereafter, PCB 100 a and PCB 100 b willperiodically settle the temporary credits and debits requested of oneanother (these may be referred to as cross-subchain requests) as well asother transactions that might require settlement on the consortiumchain. Once settled, PCB 100 b will confirm the transaction andthereafter the temporary credit becomes permanent in Payee B's digitalwallet and is useable (without restriction) in subsequent transactionsby Payee B. Until settlement is complete however, either or both of PCB100 a and 100 b may impose restrictions on Payee B's ability to use theCBDC temporarily credited into its digital wallet.

If either of subchains 112 a and 112 b determine that PCB 100 a and PCB100 b are in fact the same bank (but possibly different subchains), amore streamlined process may ensue. In particular, subchain 112 a maydetermine if Payer A's digital wallet has a sufficient balance tosatisfy the request from payee B. If so, subchain 112 a debits Payer A'sdigital wallet in the requested amount (optionally, with an additionalfee) and then transmit a notification to subchain 112 b to temporarilycredit Payee B's digital wallet (optionally, less an additional fee).Because PCB 100 a and PCB 100 b are the same bank, the transaction maybe settled without any reliance on the consortium chain, and instead maybe settled internally across subchains and/or using the bank's legacysystem. Once settled, temporary credit becomes permanent in Payee B'sdigital wallet and is useable (without restriction) in subsequenttransactions by Payee B.

In addition to digital wallet-to-digital wallet transactions, subchainsmay also be configured to process digital wallet-to-account transactions(FIG. 4B) and account-to-digital wallet transactions (FIG. 4C). Notethat while the payer and payee jargon is used in connection with thesefigures, it should be appreciated that in each of the examples set forthin FIGS. 4B and 4C, the payer and payee can be the same user (i.e., thetransaction may simply be a deposit or a withdrawal into or from theuser's own accounts/digital wallets).

FIG. 4B. illustrates a subchain process involving a wallet-to-accounttransaction. As shown, if a customer A is simply making a direct CBDCdeposit or payment from their digital wallet into their or anotherpayee's account at the same PCB, they can simply submit a request(through their wallet) to subchain 112 a, which will couple withconsortium chain 110 to process the transaction as described above. Inthe event that customer A desires to transfer CBDC from their digitalwallet into an account held by a different bank, additional steps may benecessary. For example, PCB 100 a may validate customer A and verify thebalance held in customer A's digital wallet to ensure it is sufficientto support the proposed CBDC transfer. Customer A may be required toauthenticate him/herself to PCB 100 a (e.g., with a signature,biometrics, 2FA or otherwise). Upon validation, the transaction will beprocessed using the cross-subchain settlement process (including a debitfrom customer A's digital wallet hosted by subchain node 112 a and atemporary credit into customer B's account with PCB 100 b until thetransaction is settled on the consortium chain 110, which occursperiodically).

FIG. 4C illustrates a subchain process involving an account-to-wallettransaction. As shown, if a customer B desires to make a direct CBDCwithdrawal, payment, or other movement of CBDC from their account at PCB100 b into their own digital wallet or another person's digital walletat the same PCB, they can simply submit a request (through their accountor their digital wallet) to subchain 112 a, which will couple withconsortium chain 110 to process the transaction as described above. Inthe event that customer B desires to transfer CBDC from their accountinto a digital wallet held by a different bank (i.e., hosted by adifferent PCB's subchain), additional steps may be necessary. Forexample, PCB 100 b may validate customer B and verify the balance heldin customer B's account to ensure it is sufficient to support theproposed CBDC transfer to customer A. Customer B may be required toauthenticate him/herself to PCB 100 b (e.g., with a signature,biometrics, 2FA or otherwise). Upon validation, the transaction will beprocessed using the cross-subchain process (including a debit fromcustomer B's account with PCB 100 b and a temporary credit to customerA's digital wallet until the transaction is settled on the consortiumchain 110, which may occur periodically).

In some embodiments, payments received pursuant to a transactionprocessed through cross-subchain blockchains may not be used by therecipient, e.g., for the next transaction, until settled (which may bein real-time, near real-time, and/or in intervals on a periodic basis,e.g., every 5 seconds, every 30 seconds, every 5 minutes, every 30minutes, every day, etc.

It should be appreciated that the smart contract technologies of thepresent disclosure may be similarly applied by PCBs to regulatevisibility of transactions details (or even the existence of atransaction) occurring at the subchain level. For example, a PCB mayexecute one or more of the above example transactions utilizing a smartcontract that restricts visibility of the transaction details (or eventhe existence of the transaction) to the PCB itself, restrictsvisibility of the transaction details (or even the existence of thetransaction) to the PCB itself and the payer and payee participantsthemselves, or in accordance with any other predefined regime. Suchregimes may include the progressively restrictive smart contracts thatmay be defined as desired by the individual PCB's that provide nodes toprocess requested transactions.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate a system similar in architecture to the system inFIG. 1, but depicting added detail and providing an example where sucharchitecture is extended to a third jurisdiction (the same type ofextension being applicable to any N-number of jurisdictions). FIG. 5Aillustrates an three jurisdiction/three CBDC example system 300-1 inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.System 300-1 includes one or more central bank nodes 302 associated witha first central bank, one or more central bank nodes 304 associated witha second central bank, and one or more central bank nodes 306 associatedwith a third central bank.

Central bank nodes 302 (denoted, by way of example, as CB1 labelednodes) may be located in a first jurisdiction over which the firstcentral bank exercises control (e.g., is authorized to mint, issue,receive, and burn at least one type of CBDC as legal tender in the firstjurisdiction). Additionally or alternatively, one or more central banknodes 302 may be located outside of the first jurisdiction over whichthe first central bank exercises control; but may be dedicated, in wholeor in part, to interacting with network participant's computing deviceslocated within or outside the first jurisdiction that are makingrequests, transactions, calls, or otherwise exchanging messages withsuch central bank nodes.

Central bank nodes 304 (denoted, by way of example, as CB2 labelednodes) may be located in a second jurisdiction over which the secondcentral bank exercises control (e.g., is authorized to mint, issue,receive, and burn at least one type of CBDC as legal tender in thesecond jurisdiction). Additionally or alternatively, one or more centralbank nodes 304 may be located outside of the second jurisdiction overwhich the second central bank exercises control; but may be dedicated,in whole or in part, to interacting with network participant's computingdevices located within or outside the second jurisdiction that aremaking requests, transactions, calls, or otherwise exchanging messageswith such central bank nodes.

Central bank nodes 306 (denoted, by way of example, as CB3 labelednodes) may be located in a third jurisdiction over which the thirdcentral bank exercises control (e.g., is authorized to mint, issue,receive, and burn at least one type of CBDC as legal tender in the thirdjurisdiction). Additionally or alternatively, one or more central banknodes 306 may be located outside of the third jurisdiction over whichthe third central bank exercises control; but may be dedicated, in wholeor in part, to interacting with network participant's computing deviceslocated within or outside the third jurisdiction that are makingrequests, transactions, calls, or otherwise exchanging messages withsuch central bank nodes.

Any number of central banks having clusters of one or more central banknodes in any number of jurisdictions may be utilized, and theillustration of three such clusters of central bank nodes in FIG. 5Ashould not be understood to be limiting. Indeed, in an ideal globalimplementation of the technology disclosed herein, central banks fromevery jurisdiction that mints some form of CBDC would be configured tobe a participant in the disclosed systems (with clusters of their ownconnecting central bank nodes, or through partnerships with banks thatdo have connected central bank nodes, etc.). As such, persons ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the examples providedherein are illustrative of example systems, but that the technologydisclosed herein is scalable to any number of network participants(e.g., central banks, PCBs, partners of central and/or PCBs, customersof central and/or PCBs) as may be progressively desirable with increasedadoption.

System 300-1 includes one or more PCB nodes 310 (denoted, by way ofexample, as 310-A, 310-B, . . . , 310-N) associated with a plurality ofPCBs that maintain situs in a first jurisdiction (the same jurisdictionas the first central bank discussed above for this illustrativeexample), one or more PCB nodes 316 (denoted, by way of example, as316-A, 316-B, . . . , 316-N) associated with a plurality of PCBs thatmaintain situs in a second jurisdiction (the same jurisdiction as thesecond central bank discussed above for this illustrative example), andone or more PCB nodes 318 (denoted, by way of example, as 318-A, 318-B,. . . , 318-N) associated with a plurality of PCBs that maintain situsin a third jurisdiction (the same jurisdiction as the third central bankdiscussed above for this illustrative example). PCB nodes 310 may belocated in a first jurisdiction (where the PCBs that the nodes areassociated with maintain situs, and over which the first central bankexercises control). Additionally or alternatively, one or more PCB nodes310 may be located outside of the first jurisdiction; but may bededicated, in whole or in part, to interacting with networkparticipant's computing devices (e.g., mobile devices) that are makingrequests, transactions, calls, or otherwise exchanging messages withsuch PCB nodes 310. In some embodiments, the one or more PCB nodes 310may be dedicated to handling only direct interactions with networkparticipant computing devices when those devices are physically orvirtually (e.g., through VPN) located within the same jurisdiction thatthe PCB nodes 310 are physically or virtually located within. In someembodiments, the one or more PCB nodes 310 may, in addition to handlinginteractions with network participant computing devices in the samejurisdiction, also be configured to handle—directly orindirectly—interactions with network participant computing devicesphysically or virtually located outside the jurisdiction within whichthe PCB nodes 310 are physically or virtually located.

PCB nodes 316 may be located in a second jurisdiction (where the PCBsthat the nodes are associated with maintain situs, and over which thesecond central bank exercises control). Additionally or alternatively,one or more PCB nodes 316 may be physically or virtually located outsideof the second jurisdiction; but may be dedicated, in whole or in part,to interacting with network participant's computing devices locatedphysically or virtually in the second jurisdiction that are makingrequests, calls, or otherwise exchanging messages with such PCB nodes316. In some embodiments, the one or more PCB nodes 316 may be dedicatedto handling only direct interactions with network participant computingdevices when those devices are physically or virtually (e.g., throughVPN) located within the same jurisdiction that the PCB nodes 316 arephysically or virtually located within. In some embodiments, the one ormore PCB nodes 316 may, in addition to handling interactions withnetwork participant computing devices in the same jurisdiction, also beconfigured to handle—directly or indirectly—interactions with networkparticipant computing devices physically or virtually located outsidethe jurisdiction within which the PCB nodes 316 are physically orvirtually located.

PCB nodes 318 may be located in a third jurisdiction (where the PCB sthat the nodes are associated with maintain situs, and over which thethird central bank exercises control). Additionally or alternatively,one or more PCB nodes 318 may be located outside of the thirdjurisdiction; but may be dedicated, in whole or in part, to interactingwith network participant's computing devices located in the thirdjurisdiction that are making requests, transactions, calls, or otherwiseexchanging messages with such PCB nodes 318. In some embodiments, theone or more PCB nodes 318 may be dedicated to handling only directinteractions with network participant computing devices when thosedevices are physically or virtually (e.g., through VPN) located withinthe same jurisdiction that the PCB nodes 318 are physically or virtuallylocated within. In some embodiments, the one or more PCB nodes 318 may,in addition to handling interactions with network participant computingdevices in the same jurisdiction, also be configured to handle—directlyor indirectly—interactions with network participant computing devicesphysically or virtually located outside the jurisdiction within whichthe PCB nodes 318 are physically or virtually located.

The account (referenced above) of a given PCB may be in operativecommunication with a node of the PCB (as well as other blockchain nodeswith which PCB node may be connected). The account of a given PCB may beaccessible through a computing device of the PCB, and may be configuredto connect with a transaction management utility of the system, wherebysuch PCB can cause a blockchain to send, receive, and exchange CBDC (andrequest or relay requests therefor) to/from other network participants(including respective central banks) in connection with one or moretransactions, orders, or exchanges (which may collectively be referredto as “transactions”). The transaction management utility is configuredto take input received through the computing device of a respective PCB(or through an authorized computing device of a customer of suchrespective PCB to whom the PCB provided an application through whichsuch transaction management utility may be accessed, e.g., underpredefined conditions), and communicate a command to a blockchain of thesystem (e.g., a relevant consortium blockchain discussed herein, arelevant subchain blockchain discussed herein, etc.) to cause, directlyor indirectly, the corresponding blockchain to execute, alone ortogether with another blockchain and/or additional resources, a CBDCbased transaction indicated by the input. The transaction managementutility may also be configured automatically communicate a command to ablockchain of the system based on a triggering event, or a predefinedrule or criteria/condition, to cause the blockchain to execute, alone ortogether with another blockchain and/or additional resources, a CBDCbased transaction. Example accounts are shown symbolically in theillustrated example in FIG. 5A as individual ovals within the boxoutlines indicated by numerals 320 (e.g., 320-A, 320-B, . . . 320-N),326 (e.g., 326-A, 326-B, . . . 326-N) and 328 (e.g., 328-A, 328-B, . . .328-N).

Any number of central banks having one or more central bank nodes in anynumber of jurisdictions may be utilized, and the illustration of threesuch clusters of central bank nodes in FIG. 5A should not be understoodto be limiting. Indeed, in an ideal global implementation of thetechnology disclosed herein, central banks from every jurisdiction thatmints some form of CBDC would be configured to be a participant in thedisclosed systems (with clusters of their own connecting central banknodes, or through partnerships with banks that do have connected PCB orcentral bank nodes, etc.). As such, persons of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that the examples provided herein are illustrative ofexample systems, but that the technology disclosed herein is scalable toany number of network participants (e.g., central banks, PCBs, partnersof central and/or PCBs, customers of central and/or PCBs) as may beprogressively desirable with increased adoption.

Similarly, any number of PCBs having one or more PCB nodes in any numberof jurisdictions may be utilized, and the illustration of three PCBnodes (each of which may correspond to a different PCB) in FIG. 5Ashould not be understood to be limiting. Indeed, in an ideal globalimplementation of the technology disclosed herein, every PCB from everyparticipating jurisdiction (including those jurisdictions where CBDC isminted in some form by a central bank) would be configured to be aparticipant in the disclosed systems (in some examples, with clusters oftheir own connecting PCB nodes, or through partnerships with PCBs thathave connected PCB nodes, etc.). As such, persons of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that the examples provided herein areillustrative of example systems, but that the technology disclosedherein is scalable to any number of network participants inparticipating jurisdictions (e.g., central banks, PCBs, partners ofcentral and/or PCBs, customers of central and/or PCBs) as may beprogressively desirable with increased adoption.

Any one of the aforementioned “nodes” may be configured to host all orpart of a blockchain for processing transactions that utilize CBDC,including as described in the nonlimiting examples provided herein. Anetwork participant may provide (or otherwise be associated with) asingle node, or may provide (or otherwise be associated with) aplurality of nodes. Nodes may be embodied in one or more physical and/orvirtual servers, including as described in the nonlimiting examplesprovided herein. Together, collections of nodes within the system 300-1may embody all or part of one or more of the blockchains configured toprocess the CBDC based transactions contemplated by the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example system in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure. System 300-2 includes twoexample PCB nodes 310 (e.g., 310-A, 310-B), namely commercial bank node310-A associated with a first PCB and commercial bank node 310-Bassociated with a second PCB. As shown, each PCB may also maintain oneor more subchain blockchain nodes 312 (e.g., SBC 312-A, SBC 312-B, SBC312-C), 314 (e.g., SBC 314-A, SBC 314-B, SBC 314-C) configured toprocess transactions between (1) account holders of the first PCB(including NPBs), (2) account holders of the second PCB (includingNPBs), and/or (3) an account holder of the first PCB and an accountholder of the second PCB (including NPBs), and/or (4) an account holderof either the first PCB or the second PCB and an account holder atanother PCB maintaining either (a) a subchain blockchain node linked toa subchain blockchain node of either or both the first PCB and thesecond PCB, or (b) a PCB node linked to a PCB node (e.g., in aconsortium blockchain) of either or both the first PCB and the secondPCB, or (c) an NPB communicatively coupled with either or both of thefirst PCB and the second PCB through a digital wallet, API, or anaccount.

Account holding customers of the first PCB and/or the second PCB maygain access to their account through, among other mechanisms, aninstance of a digital wallet downloadable onto a computing device of therespective customers. Example digital wallets of two customers of thefirst PCB are represented symbolically with reference to numeral 330(e.g. as DW 330-A and DW 330-B). Example digital wallets of twocustomers of the second PCB are also represented symbolically withreference to numeral 330 (e.g. as DW 330-C and DW 330-Dy. Accountholding customers of the first PCB and/or the second PCB may exchangeCDBC reflected in their respective digital wallets for fiat-currency orother CBDC by presenting or syncing (e.g., via IOT, Bluetooth, Zigbee,Wi-Fi, mesh networking, etc.) digital wallet information (e.g., a QRcode, a serial number, an ID, etc.) to a bank, ATM, or other exchangeportal such as ATM 332.

Customers with digital wallets configured to transact with CBDC in thesystem may send or receive CBDC to digital wallets of other customerswith whom they desire to transact, including by processing suchtransactions in whole or in part on a blockchain of the system 300-2.Where two customers of the same PCB desire to transact with one another,the subchain blockchain nodes of the PCB may process the transactionresponsive to a communication from one or more digital walletsinitiating the transaction. Where one customer of the first PCB and onecustomer of the second PCB desire to transact with one another, subchainblockchain nodes of one or more of the first PCB and the second PCB mayprocess the transaction responsive to a communication from one or moredigital wallets initiating the transaction. See also FIGS. 1, 4A-4C.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example aggregated system 300-3 in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. System 300-3illustrates a combination of system 300-1 and system 300-2, where thePCB node 310 a and PCB node 310 b represents the common elements inFIGS. 5A and 5B, and the elements connecting system 300-1 with system300-2 in system 300-3.

Embodiments of system 300-3 may include a consortium blockchain, theconsortium blockchain comprising one or more central bank nodes and oneor more PCB nodes, the central bank nodes associated with at least oneof a plurality of central banks exercising control over one of aplurality of jurisdictions, the PCB nodes associated with at least oneof a plurality of PCBs maintaining situs in at least from one of theplurality of jurisdictions over which a central bank of the plurality ofcentral banks exercises control. In some embodiments PCB nodes may beassociated with at least one of a plurality of PCBs maintaining situsoutside at least one of the plurality of jurisdictions over which acentral bank of the plurality of central banks exercises control.

Each respective central bank of the plurality of central banks may beconfigured to (1) mint, burn, and/or issue its own central bank digitalcurrency (CBDC) as legal tender in the respective jurisdiction overwhich the respective central bank exercises control, and (2) transactwith PCBs having situs in the same jurisdiction as the respectivecentral bank using the CBDC issued by the respective central bankexercising control over the jurisdiction, and (3) transact withparticipating central banks and/or PCBs in other jurisdictions.

Each PCB of the plurality of PCBs that maintains situs in the samejurisdiction as a respective central bank is configured to (1) transactwith the respective central bank using the CBDC issued by the respectivecentral bank and/or using CBDC issued by another central bank fromanother jurisdiction that participates in the network, (2) transact withother PCBs having situs in the same jurisdiction as the given centralbank using the CBDC issued by the central bank exercising control overthe jurisdiction and/or using CBDC issued by another central bank fromanother jurisdiction that participates in the network, (3) transact withand on behalf of one or more customers of such PCB (including NPBs)using the CBDC issued by the central bank exercising control over thejurisdiction and/or using CBDC issued by another central bank fromanother jurisdiction that participates in the network, and (4) transactwith PCBs in other jurisdictions directly or by utilizing a smartcontract bridge imposed by the central bank that issued the CBDC beingused in the transaction, which may include the CBDC of the PCB'sdomestic central bank and/or CBDC issued by another central bank fromanother jurisdiction that participates in the network.

Embodiments of system 300-3 may further include a plurality of subchainblockchains comprising one or more subchain blockchain nodes, eachsubchain blockchain associated with a PCB of the one or more PCBs. Eachsubchain blockchain may be operatively coupled with the one or more PCBnodes in the consortium block chain that are associated with therespective PCB of the one or more PCBs. Each PCB may maintain multiplesubchains, one or more of which may be configured to processtransactions involving a first type of CBDC but not other types of CBDC,while other one or more of which may be configured to processtransactions involving a second type of CBDC but not other types of CBDC(e.g., not the first type of CBDC). Alternatively or additionally, insome embodiments a single subchain may be configured to processtransactions involving multiple types of CBDC.

Embodiments of system 300-3 may further include a transaction managementutility (not shown) configured to cause, directly or indirectly, theexecution of one or more transactions on between two or more networkparticipants. Network participants, as used herein, may include centralbank(s), PCB(s), customer(s), other bank(s), and/or non bank paymentservices partners associated with one or more of: an account associatedwith a PCB node, a digital wallet connected to an account with a PCBassociated with a PCB node, and an application (API) connected to a PCBassociated with a PCB node. The transaction management utility may beaccessible through (1) a computing device of a network participanthaving an established connection to the transaction management utilitythrough an Application Programming Interface (API) operatively coupledwith the transaction management utility, and/or (2) a digital walletoperatively coupled with the transaction management utility, or a memberaccount operatively coupled with the transaction management utility.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, execution of the one or moretransactions is performed in accordance with one or more executionprocedures, the one or more execution procedures based on which networkparticipants are involved in the one or more transactions.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, for a transaction between customersof one or more PCBs, the one or more execution procedures is selectedfurther based on one or more of: (1) the location of the point-of-saleof the transaction, (2) the type of CBDC elected to support thetransaction, and (3) the situs of one or more of the respective bankingentities of the plurality of banking entities involved in thetransaction.

For example, if (1) the point-of-sale is within a first jurisdiction,and (2) the CBDC elected to support the transaction was issued by thecentral bank exercising control over the first jurisdiction, and (3)each of the customers is associated with a digital wallet connected toan account with a single PCB maintaining situs in the firstjurisdiction, then the one or more execution procedures causes executionof the transaction on the subchain blockchain associated with the singlePCB.

In another example, if (1) the point-of-sale is within a firstjurisdiction, and (2) the CBDC elected to support the transaction wasissued by the central bank exercising control over the firstjurisdiction, and (3) each of the customers is associated with a digitalwallet connected to an account with one respective PCB, each respectivePCB maintaining situs in the first jurisdiction, then the one or moreexecution procedures causes execution of the transaction on one or moreof: the subchain blockchain hosted by a subchain blockchain node of oneor both of the respective PCBs, and the consortium blockchain hosted byPCB nodes of both of the respective PCBs.

In some embodiments of system 100-3, for a transaction between PCBs, theone or more execution procedures is selected further based on one ormore of: (1) the situs of the respective PCB entities involved in thetransaction, and (2) the type of CBDC elected to support thetransaction.

In another example, if (1) the situs of both PCBs is maintained in afirst jurisdiction, and (2) the CBDC elected to support the transactionis the CBDC issued by the central bank exercising control over the firstjurisdiction, then the one or more execution procedures causes executionof the transaction on the consortium blockchain hosted by PCB nodes ofboth PCBs.

In another example, if (1) the situs of a first PCB to the transactionis maintained in a first jurisdiction and the situs of a second PCB tothe transaction is maintained in a second jurisdiction, and (2) the CBDCelected to support the transaction is the CBDC issued by the centralbank exercising control over the first jurisdiction, then the one ormore execution procedures causes execution of the transaction on theconsortium blockchain involving (a) at least one PCB node of the firstPCB that is configured to process the CBDC issued by the central bankexercising control over the first jurisdiction, (b) at least one PCBnode of the second PCB that is configured to process the CBDC issued bythe central bank exercising control over the first jurisdiction.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, PCBs in a given jurisdictionare configured with nodes that process account-based transactions withinthe given jurisdiction. PCBs in a given jurisdiction are also configuredto process foreign transactions and transactions involving accountswithin the given jurisdiction.

In some embodiments, PCBs within a given jurisdiction can only processtransaction within such jurisdiction and with the central bankexercising control over such jurisdiction. The central bank exercisingcontrol over a particular jurisdiction may monitor global transactionsinvolving PCBs within the particular jurisdiction (whether entirelywithin the jurisdiction or cross-border with a PCB in anotherjurisdiction).

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the consortium blockchain comprisesa single blockchain hosted by the plurality of PCBs, the plurality ofPCBs including at least one PCB maintaining situs within a firstjurisdiction, and at least one PCB maintaining situs within a secondjurisdiction, wherein the first jurisdiction is different than thesecond jurisdiction.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the consortium blockchain comprisesa single blockchain hosted by the plurality of PCBs, the plurality ofPCBs including at least one PCB maintaining situs within a firstjurisdiction, and at least one PCB maintaining situs within a secondjurisdiction, wherein the first jurisdiction corresponds to a firstgeographical region and the second jurisdiction corresponds with asecond geographical region, and further wherein the first geographicalregion and the second geographical region do not overlap. The first andsecond geographical regions may correspond to first and secondcountries, states, regions, and/or distinct territorial bodies.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the consortium blockchain comprisesa plurality of geo-blockchains, at least one geo-blockchain dedicatedprocessing transactions for each type of CBDC issued by a central bankof the plurality of central banks, wherein each geo-blockchain is hostedonly by PCBs maintaining situs within the jurisdiction over which thecentral bank that issued the type of CBDC exercises control.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to permit a first NPB to initiate a transaction with andthrough a second PCB, where the second PCB hosts a geo-blockchain thatthe first NPB does not, through one or more of: a call to an ApplicationProgramming Interface (API) associated with the second PCB, a requestfrom a digital wallet associated with the first PCB to the second PCB,and a request from an account held by the first PCB to second PCB.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, cash-based transactions (includingtransactions for small or fractional CBDC amounts) are processed by asubchain blockchain(s) of the first and/or second PCB.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to permit a NPB that is not among the plurality of PCBs toinitiate a transaction through a PCB that is among the plurality ofPCBs, through one or more of: a call to an Application ProgrammingInterface (API) associated with the PCB that is among the plurality ofPCBs, and a request through a digital wallet establishing a connectionbetween the PCB that is among the plurality of PCBs and the NPB that isnot among the plurality of PCBs, and/or an account connected with theNPB that is not among the plurality of PCBs.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the consortium blockchain comprisesat least one blockchain node for each form of CBDC transactable withinthe system, wherein the at least one blockchain node for a given form ofCBDC is hosted by one or more of: (1) PCBs maintaining situs within thejurisdiction over which the central bank that issues such form of CBDCexercises control, and (2) PCB s maintaining situs within a jurisdictiondifferent from the jurisdiction over which the central bank that issuessuch form of CBDC exercises control.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, transaction management utility isconfigured to effect a transaction between PCB entities by executing oneor more smart contracts. If each PCB involved in the transactionmaintains situs within the same jurisdiction, a smart contractassociated with the same jurisdiction is executed to effect thetransaction. If each PCB involved in the transaction maintains situs indifferent jurisdictions, then two smart contracts may be executed toeffect the transaction: the first smart contract between a first PCB anda first central bank associated with a first jurisdiction, the firstjurisdiction being the jurisdiction within which the first PCB maintainssitus. The second smart contract between the first central bank and asecond PCB, the second PCB within a second jurisdiction, the secondjurisdiction being the jurisdiction within which the second PCBmaintains situs. In some embodiments, the second smart contract can beutilized to allow a PCB in the first jurisdiction to transact directlywith the central bank of a second jurisdiction. In some embodiments thetwo aforementioned smart contracts may be consolidated or aggregatedinto a single smart contract such that a PCB in a first jurisdiction cantransact directly with a PCB in a second jurisdiction.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to effect a transaction between a central bank and PCB byexecuting one or more smart contracts. If the PCB and the central bankmaintain situs in the same jurisdiction, a smart contract associatedwith the same jurisdiction is executed to effect the transaction. If thePCB and the central bank maintain situs in different jurisdictions, twosmart contracts may be executed to effect the transaction. The firstsmart contract may be between the PCB and a second PCB, wherein thesecond PCB maintains situs in the same jurisdiction as the central bank.The second smart contract between the second PCB and the central bank.In some embodiments the two aforementioned smart contracts may beconsolidated into a single smart contract such that a PCB in onejurisdiction can transact directly with the central bank of a secondjurisdiction. Alternatively, if the PCB and the central bank maintainsitus in different jurisdictions, two smart contracts may be executed toeffect the transaction. The first smart contract may be between firstPCB and a first central bank, wherein the first PCB maintains situs inthe same jurisdiction as the first central bank. The second smartcontract between the first central bank and a second central bank,wherein the second central bank maintains situs in a differentjurisdiction than the first central bank. In some embodiments the twoaforementioned smart contracts may be consolidated into a single smartcontract such that a PCB in one jurisdiction can transact directly withthe central bank of a second jurisdiction. Alternatively, in someconfigurations even if the PCB and the central bank maintain situs indifferent jurisdictions, a single smart contract may be executed betweenthe PCB and the central bank to effect the transaction. The first smartcontract may be between first PCB and a second central bank. In thismanner, a PCB may directly transact with a central bank of anotherjurisdiction (i.e., not the PCB's home jurisdiction).

In some embodiments of system 300-3, each individual transactionexecuted within the system is encrypted to enhance privacy and limitvisibility of each individual transaction to one or more of: (1) thePCB(s) involved in a given individual transaction, and (2) the centralbank exercising control over the jurisdiction within which at least oneof the PCB(s) involved in the given individual transaction maintainssitus. In some embodiments, a smart contract may be imposed by a singlejurisdiction's central bank. In some embodiments, a smart contract maybe imposed between central banks and PCBs and/or between PCB pairs. Insome embodiments, all transactions within a jurisdiction may be visibleto the central bank exercising control over such jurisdiction. In someembodiments, a particular smart contract (or set of smart contracts) maybe used based on different details of the transaction. For instance,there may be a particular smart contract (or set of smart contracts)imposed for a particular type of CBDC based transaction, a transactionprocessed on a particular chain, a transaction processed for aparticular type of CBDC and processed by a particular consortium chain,a particular PCB-to-PCB transaction, a particular PCB-to-central banktransaction, a particular central bank-to-central bank transaction, aparticular central bank-to-PCB transaction, or any particulararrangement of network participants involved in a transaction or one ormore legs of a multi-step transaction, etc.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, each individual transactionexecuted within the system is encrypted to enhance privacy and limitvisibility of each individual transaction to one or more of: (1) thePCB(s) involved in a given individual transaction, and (2) the centralbank issuing the type of CBDC used in the given transaction.

In some embodiments of system 100-3, each individual transactionexecuted within the system is encrypted to enhance privacy and limitvisibility of each individual transaction to one or more of: (1) thePCBs involved in a given individual transaction, (2) the central banksexercising control over the jurisdiction within which at least one ofthe PCBs involved in the given individual transaction maintains situs,and (3) the central banks issuing the form of CBDC used in the giventransaction.

In some embodiments of system 100-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to cause a subchain blockchain of a first PCB to execute,responsive to a relay request by the first PCB in response to a requestfrom a customer (including an NPB) of the first PCB, a CBDC transactionon behalf of the customer (including an NPB) of the first PCB, whereinthe customer (including an NPB) of the first PCB is an account holder ofthe first PCB.

In some embodiments of system 100-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to cause a subchain blockchain of a first PCB to execute,responsive to a relay request by the first PCB in response to a requestfrom a customer (including an NPB) of the first PCB, a CBDC transactionon behalf of the customer (including an NPB) of the first PCB, whereinthe customer (including an NPB) is another bank that holds an account(or an API connection or digital wallet) with the first PCB, but whichis not one of the plurality of PCBs that hosts a PCB node of the system.

In some embodiments of system 100-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to cause the consortium blockchain associated with a firstPCB to execute, responsive to a relay request by the first PCB inresponse to a request from a customer (including an NPB) of the firstPCB, a CBDC transaction on behalf of the customer (including an NPB) ofthe first PCB, wherein the customer (including an NPB) is another bankthat holds an account with the first PCB, but which is not one of theplurality of PCBs that hosts a PCB node of the system.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to cause the consortium blockchain associated with a firstPCB to execute, responsive to a relay request by the first PCB inresponse to a request from a customer (including an NPB) of the firstPCB, a CBDC transaction on behalf of the customer (including an NPB) ofthe first PCB, wherein the customer (including an NPB) is another bankthat holds a digital wallet connected with a PCB node of the first PCB,but which is not one of the plurality of PCBs that hosts a PCB node ofthe system.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the transaction management utilityis configured to cause the consortium blockchain associated with a firstPCB to execute, responsive to a relay request by the first PCB inresponse to a request from a customer (including an NPB) of the firstPCB, a CBDC transaction on behalf of the customer (including an NPB) ofthe first PCB, wherein the customer (including an NPB) is another bankwith access to an application configured to make a call to an APIprovided by a PCB node of the first PCB, but which is not one of theplurality of PCBs that hosts a PCB node of the system.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, system 300-3 may further comprise atransaction monitoring utility. The transaction monitoring utility maybe configured to permit each central bank of the plurality of centralbanks to monitor one or more of: (1) transactions involving therespective central bank itself, (2) transactions involving a transfer ofCBDC that had been earlier issued by the respective central bank, and(3) transactions involving one or more PCBs of the plurality of PCBsthat maintain situs in the same jurisdiction as the respective centralbank, (4) transactions executed on the system where the point of sale iswithin the jurisdiction over which the central bank exercises control,(5) CBDC transactions among all PCBs in the jurisdiction governed by thecentral bank, and (6) all CBDC transactions within the jurisdictiongoverned by the central bank.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, a first PCB can initiate a CBDCtransaction with CBDC of another jurisdiction through an account thefirst PCB holds with a second PCB using a traditional banking networkoperation.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, a PCB comprises separate serversoperating as separate nodes of the PCB node, wherein each separate nodeis associated with a different type of CBDC that is transactable withinthe system.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the separate servers are physicallyseparate servers. In some embodiments of system 300-3, the separateservers are virtual servers that are logically separate servers.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, system 300-3 may further comprise adigital wallet application, instances of the digital wallet applicationbeing downloadable onto a computing device and associated with one ormore of: a banking entity and a customer of banking entity (including anNPB). Each PCB may be associated with a single digital wallet, and thesingle digital wallet may be operatively coupled, via the transactionmanagement utility, to one or more of: the consortium blockchain, one ormore geo-blockchains, and one or more subchain blockchains.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, system 300-3 may further comprise adigital wallet application, instances of the digital wallet applicationbeing downloadable onto a computing device and associated with one ormore of: a banking entity and a customer of banking entity (including anNPB). Each PCB may be associated with a plurality of digital wallets,and further wherein each digital wallet of the plurality of digitalwallets may be operatively coupled, via the transaction managementutility to only one of: the consortium blockchain, a singlegeo-blockchain, and a single subchain blockchain.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, a CBDC transaction between two PCBsmaintaining the same or different situs is executable in real-time, nearreal-time, periodically. In some embodiments of system 300-3, atransaction between two PCBs maintaining the same or different situs isexecutable in a batch with a plurality of other transactions.

In some embodiments of system 300-3, a digital wallet of a customer of aPCB of the plurality of PCBs is configured to cause, responsive to inputfrom the customer (and potentially with the imposition of a fee), anexchange of fiat currency for CBDC with the PCB. In some embodiments ofsystem 300-3, a digital wallet of a customer of a PCB of the pluralityof PCBs is configured to cause, responsive to input from the customer,and exchange of fiat currency for CBDC with any PCB of the plurality ofPCBs. (and optionally, with the imposition of a fee). The CBDC that thefiat currency is exchanged for may be of the same type (e.g., USD-fiatcurrency exchanged for USD-CBDC) or be of a different type (e.g.,USD-fiat currency exchanged for Euro-CBDC).

In some embodiments of system 300-3, a digital wallet of a customer of aPCB of the plurality of PCBs is configured to cause, responsive to inputfrom the customer, and exchange of CBDC for fiat currency with the PCB(and optionally, with the imposition of a fee). In some embodiments ofsystem 300-3, a digital wallet of a customer of a PCB of the pluralityof PCBs is configured to cause, responsive to input from the customer,and exchange of CBDC for fiat currency with any PCB of the plurality ofPCBs (and optionally, with the imposition of a fee). In some embodimentsof system 300-3, a digital wallet of a customer of a PCB of theplurality of PCBs is configured to cause, responsive to input from thecustomer, and exchange of one type of CBDC for another type of CBDC withthe PCB, or with any other PCB (and optionally, with the imposition of afee). In some embodiments of system 300-3, a digital wallet of acustomer of a PCB of the plurality of PCBs is configured to cause,responsive to input from the customer, and exchange of CBDC for anothertype of cryptocurrency (of any kind) with the PCB (and optionally, withthe imposition of a fee).

In some embodiments of system 300-3, the consortium blockchain isconfigured to periodically settle transactions processed by theconsortium blockchain of the system, processed by a subchain blockchainof the system (including cross-subchain transactions). In someembodiments of system 300-3, a subchain blockchain is configured toperiodically settle transactions processed by the subchain blockchain ofthe system. In some embodiments of system 300-3, the consortiumblockchain is configured to settle transactions processed by theconsortium blockchain of the system in accordance with a priority,wherein the priority is based on one or more of: the networkparticipants involved in the transaction and the type of CBDC used inthe transaction. In some embodiments of system 300-3, settlement oftransactions between accounts of PCBs of the plurality of PCBs areprioritized over settlement of transactions between digital wallets ofcustomers, or vice-versa. In some embodiments of system 300-3, theconsortium blockchain is configured to offload to an internal off-chaintraditional banking system (also referred to as a “legacy” system) thesettlement of transactions involving payment between accounts held atthe same PCB.

Embodiments of the present disclosure further include all of theprocesses and sub-processes the aforementioned systems 300-1, 300-2, and300-3 are disclosed to perform via one or more elements.

Although many of the examples provided herein discuss how a customer ofa PCB may transact in and exchange different types of CBDCs and/or fiatcurrencies with one another through the PCB through whom they hold anaccount or digital wallet, it should be appreciated that with thepresent disclosure such users may complete such transactions andexchanges through any PCB participating in the relevant consortiumchain.

Moreover, as the technologies of the present disclosure rest onblockchain solutions, it should be appreciated that any consensusprotocols may be employed in connection with the technologies of thepresent disclosure. For instance, exemplary consensus protocols mayinclude one or more of a proof-of-authority consensus operation, aproof-of-history consensus operation, and a proof-of-work consensusoperation, a proof-of-two consensus operation and a proof-of-stakeconsensus operation (e.g., in connection with validation, verification,transaction execution, status, token tracking, etc.). Based on thedisclosures, examples, and descriptions herein, a person of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that, with the presently disclosedtechnologies, a user may be enabled to engage in extensive CBDC and fiatbased transactions that involve fewer parties, fewer steps, less cost,more efficiency, and greater flexibility.

Finally, although the example networks illustrated in the Figuresprovided herewith illustrate an architecture having one consortium chainthat is discussed as being dedicated to processing a single type of CBDC(e.g., Euro-CBDC), in alternative exemplary embodiments the technologiesof the present disclosure may be configured to permit one consortiumchain to process multiple types of CBDCs (e.g., Euro-CBDC and US-CBDC,etc.). Such embodiments may implement the foregoing throughCBDC-specific smart contracts such that a transaction involving one typeof CBDC is processed on the consortium chain by executing a first typeof smart contract, and a transaction involving another type of CBDC isprocessed on the same consortium chain by executing a second type ofsmart contract. This multi-CBDC enabled consortium blockchain may alsobe built on top of other divisions defined by one or more smartcontracts. For example, through the smart contract technologies of thepresent disclosure a geo-specific consortium blockchain may beconfigured to process transactions involving various multiple differenttypes of CBDCs occurring within the geographic boundaries of thegeo-specific consortium blockchain. By effecting different types of CBDCbased transactions on the same consortium chain through the use ofCBDC-specific smart contracts, such implementations may conservecomputational hardware resources and provide a more sustainablearchitecture that consolidates the use of hardware resources through theuse of intelligent software resources (which can often be updated,configured, reconfigured, and fixed much more expeditiously thanhardware resources).

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of an example computer system 600 inwhich various of the embodiments described herein may be implemented.The computer system 600 includes a bus 602 or other communicationmechanism for communicating information, one or more hardware processors604 coupled with bus 602 for processing information. Hardwareprocessor(s) 604 may be, for example, one or more general purposemicroprocessors.

The computer system 600 also includes a main memory 606, such as arandom access memory (RAM), cache and/or other dynamic storage devices,coupled to bus 602 for storing information and instructions to beexecuted by processor 604. Main memory 1006 also may be used for storingtemporary variables or other intermediate information during executionof instructions to be executed by processor 604. Such instructions, whenstored in storage media accessible to processor 604, render computersystem 600 into a special-purpose machine that is customized to performthe operations specified in the instructions.

The computer system 600 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 608 orother static storage device coupled to bus 602 for storing staticinformation and instructions for processor 604. A storage device 610,such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or USB thumb drive (Flash drive),etc., is provided and coupled to bus 602 for storing information andinstructions. For enhanced security, in some embodiments storage at anode is embodied in ROM only.

The computer system 600 may be coupled via bus 602 to a display 612,such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) (or touch screen), for displayinginformation to a computer user. An input device 614, includingalphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 602 for communicatinginformation and command selections to processor 604. Another type ofuser input device is cursor control 616, such as a mouse, a trackball,or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information andcommand selections to processor 604 and for controlling cursor movementon display 612. In some embodiments, the same direction information andcommand selections as cursor control may be implemented via receivingtouches on a touch screen without a cursor (e.g., via a touch enabledsmartphone).

The computing system 600 may include a user interface component toimplement a GUI that may be stored in a mass storage device asexecutable software codes that are executed by the computing device(s).This and other modules may include, by way of example, components, suchas software components, object-oriented software components, classcomponents and task components, processes, functions, attributes,procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware,microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays,and variables.

In general, the word “component,” “engine,” “system,” “database,” datastore,” and the like, as used herein, can refer to logic embodied inhardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions,possibly having entry and exit points, written in a programminglanguage, such as, for example, Java, C or C++, Golang. A softwarecomponent may be compiled and linked into an executable program,installed in a dynamic link library, or may be written in an interpretedprogramming language such as, for example, GoLang, BASIC, Perl, orPython. It will be appreciated that software components may be callablefrom other components or from themselves, and/or may be invoked inresponse to detected events or interrupts. Software componentsconfigured for execution on computing devices may be provided on acomputer readable medium, such as a compact disc, digital video disc,flash drive, magnetic disc, or any other tangible medium, or as adigital download (and may be originally stored in a compressed orinstallable format that requires installation, decompression ordecryption prior to execution). Such software code may be stored,partially or fully, on a memory device of the executing computingdevice, for execution by the computing device. Software instructions maybe embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be furtherappreciated that hardware components may be comprised of connected logicunits, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised ofprogrammable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors.

The computer system 600 may implement the techniques described hereinusing customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmwareand/or program logic which in combination with the computer systemcauses or programs computer system 600 to be a special-purpose machine.According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed bycomputer system 600 in response to processor(s) 604 executing one ormore sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 606.Such instructions may be read into main memory 1006 from another storagemedium, such as storage device 610. Execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in main memory 606 causes processor(s) 604 toperform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions.

The term “non-transitory media,” and similar terms, as used hereinrefers to any media that store data and/or instructions that cause amachine to operate in a specific fashion. Such non-transitory media maycomprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile mediaincludes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device610. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 606.Common forms of non-transitory media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, orany other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical datastorage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, aPROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip orcartridge, and networked versions of the same.

Non-transitory media is distinct from but may be used in conjunctionwith transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferringinformation between non-transitory media. For example, transmissionmedia includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, includingthe wires that comprise bus 1002. Transmission media can also take theform of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated duringradio-wave and infra-red data communications.

The computer system 600 also includes a communication interface 618coupled to bus 602. Network interface 618 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to one or more network links that are connectedto one or more local networks. For example, communication interface 618may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem,satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connectionto a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, networkinterface 618 may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a datacommunication connection to a compatible LAN (or WAN component tocommunicated with a WAN). Wireless links may also be implemented. In anysuch implementation, network interface 618 sends and receiveselectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams representing various types of information.

A network link typically provides data communication through one or morenetworks to other data devices. For example, a network link may providea connection through local network to a host computer or to dataequipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP inturn provides data communication services through the world wide packetdata communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet.”Local network and Internet both use electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through thevarious networks and the signals on network link and throughcommunication interface 618, which carry the digital data to and fromcomputer system 600, are example forms of transmission media.

The computer system 600 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link and communicationinterface 1018. In the Internet example, a server might transmit arequested code for an application program through the Internet, the ISP,the local network and the communication interface 618.

The received code may be executed by processor 1004 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 610, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution.

Each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in thepreceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partially automatedby, code components executed by one or more computer systems or computerprocessors comprising computer hardware. The one or more computersystems or computer processors may also operate to support performanceof the relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). The processes and algorithms may beimplemented partially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. Thevarious features and processes described above may be used independentlyof one another, or may be combined in various ways. Differentcombinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall within the scopeof this disclosure, and certain method or process blocks may be omittedin some implementations. The methods and processes described herein arealso not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or statesrelating thereto can be performed in other sequences that areappropriate, or may be performed in parallel, or in some other manner.Blocks or states may be added to or removed from the disclosed exampleembodiments. The performance of certain of the operations or processesmay be distributed among computer systems or computers processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines.

As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive orexclusive sense. Moreover, the description of resources, operations, orstructures in the singular shall not be read to exclude the plural.Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps.

Although various embodiments of the present disclosure are discussedherein in the context of blockchains, it should be understood that allsuch embodiments can be equally applied to distributed ledgertechnologies, centralized solution or any modifications or variationsthereon. For example, to the extent an embodiment is described in thecontext of a blockchain network, it should be appreciated that theembodiment may more generally be applied in a distributed ledger networkor a centralized solution.

Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unlessotherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposedto limiting. Adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,”“standard,” “known,” and terms of similar meaning should not beconstrued as limiting the item described to a given time period or to anitem available as of a given time, but instead should be read toencompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologiesthat may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Thepresence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “atleast,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instancesshall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or requiredin instances where such broadening phrases may be absent.

1. A system comprising: an application server maintained by a firstcommercial bank, the application server configured to (a) receive atransaction request from a first user's digital wallet, and (b) issue acommand causing at least one of a plurality of blockchains to process atransaction consistent with the transaction request; a first subchainblockchain hosted by the first commercial bank, wherein the firstsubchain blockchain is operatively coupled with (1) a second subchainblockchain hosted by one or more of the first bank and a secondcommercial bank, (2) a first consortium blockchain dedicated totransactions involving a first type of CBDC, the first consortiumblockchain hosted on a plurality of nodes at least one of which beingmaintained by the first commercial bank and at least one of which beingmaintained by the second commercial bank, and (3) a second consortiumblockchain dedicated to transactions involving a second type of CBDC,the second consortium blockchain hosted on a plurality of nodes at leastone of which being maintained by the first commercial bank and at leastone of which being maintained by the second commercial bank; wherein thetransaction request received from the first user is generated throughone or more of (a) a digital wallet made available to the first user bythe first commercial bank, the digital wallet operatively couplable withany one or more accounts at one or more of the first commercial bank,the second commercial bank and any other participating commercial bank,and (b) a digital wallet made available to the first user by a thirdparty and which is operatively couplable with one or more of the firstsubchain blockchain of the first commercial bank and the second subchainblockchain of the second commercial bank; and wherein the blockchain towhich the application issues a command is based on one or more detailsof the transaction request; and wherein the transaction request isreceived through (1) a communication transmitted from the first user'sdigital wallet to the application server, (2) a communicationtransmitted from the first user's digital wallet to the applicationthrough a syncing operation between the user's digital wallet and one ormore of an ATM unit, a digital wallet of another user, a digital walletof a participating commercial bank, and a bank teller terminal device.2. The system of claim 1, wherein, if a detail of the transactionrequest defines a proposed transaction involving a transfer of the firsttype of CBDC from the first user's digital wallet with the firstcommercial bank into another digital wallet held by another user of thefirst commercial bank, the application server will issue a commandcausing the first subchain blockchain to process the transaction.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein one or more of the digital wallets isconfigured to (1) generate a transaction request involving a digitalwallet associated with first user of one or more of the first commercialbank, a commercial bank in operative communication with the firstcommercial bank, the second commercial bank, a commercial bank inoperative communication with the second commercial bank, and a thirdparty payment service, and (2) generate a transaction request involvingone or more of the first type of CBDC and the second type of CBDC; andfurther wherein the transaction request includes one or more of apayment, a request for payment, an exchange, and a request for anexchange.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein, if a detail of thetransaction request defines a proposed transaction involving a transferof the first type of CBDC from the first user's digital wallet with thefirst commercial bank into another digital wallet held by another userat a second commercial bank, the application server will issue a commandcausing (1) the first subchain blockchain to process a subtransactionthat debits a designated amount of the first type of CBDC from the firstuser's digital wallet with the first commercial bank, (2) the secondsubchain blockchain to process a subtransaction that credits thedesignated amount of the first type of CBDC to the another user'sdigital wallet with the second commercial bank, and (3) the firstconsortium blockchain to settle the transaction in accordance with apredefined time interval.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein, if a detailof the transaction request defines a proposed transaction involving anexchange of a designated amount of the first type of CBDC in the firstuser's digital wallet for an amount of the second type of CBDC held in asecond digital wallet, the application server will issue (1) a commandcausing one or more of the first subchain blockchain and the secondsubchain blockchain to process a transaction causing the designatedamount of the first type of CBDC to be debited from a digital wallet ofthe first user that is configured to hold the first type of CBDC, (2) acommand causing a corresponding amount of the second type of CBDC to becredited to a digital wallet of the first user that is configured tohold the second type of CBDC, and (3) causing one or more of the firstsubchain blockchain, the second subchain blockchain, the firstconsortium blockchain, and the second consortium blockchain, to settlethe transaction in accordance with a predefined time interval; whereinthe corresponding amount of the second type of CBDC is determined basedon a predefined exchange rate between the first type of CBDC and thesecond type of CBDC; and wherein the second digital wallet is held by atleast one of the first commercial bank, another commercial bank, andanother user; and wherein the commercial bank providing the seconddigital wallet imposes a fee for the exchange.
 6. The system of claim 3,wherein when one or more of the first subchain blockchain, the firstconsortium blockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the secondconsortium blockchain are offline, a transaction between two digitalwallets may be processed offline, in whole or in part, over one or moreof a Bluetooth, IoT, Wi-Fi, and mesh networking connection establishedbetween the two digital wallets; and wherein when the one or more of thefirst subchain blockchain, the first consortium blockchain, the secondsubchain blockchain, and the second consortium blockchain are backonline, one or more transaction details of the transaction processedoffline are transmitted to the application server and reflected in anupdate to one or more of the first subchain blockchain, the firstconsortium blockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the secondconsortium blockchain; and wherein any amounts received by a digitalwallet during an transaction that is processed offline are restrictedfrom being used in subsequent transactions until the offline transactionis validated by one or more of the first subchain blockchain and thesecond subchain blockchain.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstcommercial bank imposes, via the application server, restrictionsincluding one or more of: (1) limiting access to one or more transactiondetails of a processed transaction to the first commercial bank and theusers involved in the transaction, (2) limiting transactions to those inamounts beneath a predetermined threshold, and (3) limiting the numberof transactions a given user can request within a predetermined periodof time.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein, if a detail of thetransaction request defines a proposed transaction involving an exchangeof a designated amount of the first type of CBDC in the user's digitalwallet for an amount of a first type of fiat currency or a second typeof fiat currency, the application server will (1) issue a commandcausing one or more of the first subchain blockchain and the secondsubchain blockchain to process a transaction causing the designatedamount of the first type of CBDC to be debited from a digital wallet ofthe user configured to hold the first type of CBDC, (2) issue a commandcausing or permit a corresponding amount of the first type of fiatcurrency or the second type of fiat currency to be released or providedto the user, and (3) issue a command causing (a) one or more of thefirst subchain blockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the firstconsortium blockchain to settle the transaction in accordance with apredefined time interval, or (b) one or more of a non-blockchainsupported system and a legacy system of the first commercial bank tosettle the transaction in accordance with a predefined time interval;wherein the corresponding amount of the first type of fiat currency orthe second type of fiat currency is determined based on a predefinedexchange rate between the first type of CBDC and the first type of fiatcurrency or the second type of fiat currency.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein a transaction request may be submitted by account holders andcommercial banking partners of the first commercial bank.
 10. The systemof claim 1, wherein one or more of account holders and commercialbanking partners of the first commercial bank submit transactionrequests using a digital wallet or API configured to communicate withthe application server maintained by the first commercial bank.
 11. Anontransitory computer readable storage medium including instructionswhich, when executed by one or more processors of a system, cause thesystem to perform a method comprising: operating an application servermaintained by a first commercial bank, the application server configuredto (a) receive a transaction request from a first user's digital wallet,and (b) issue a command causing at least one of a plurality ofblockchains to process a transaction consistent with the transactionrequest; operating a first subchain blockchain hosted by the firstcommercial bank, wherein the first subchain blockchain is operativelycoupled with (1) a second subchain blockchain hosted by one or more ofthe first bank and a second commercial bank, (2) a first consortiumblockchain dedicated to transactions involving a first type of CBDC, thefirst consortium blockchain hosted on a plurality of nodes at least oneof which being maintained by the first commercial bank and at least oneof which being maintained by the second commercial bank, (3) a secondconsortium blockchain dedicated to transactions involving a second typeof CBDC, the second consortium blockchain hosted on a plurality of nodesat least one of which being maintained by the first commercial bank andat least one of which being maintained by the second commercial bank;wherein the transaction request received from the first user isgenerated through one or more of (a) a digital wallet made available tothe first user by the first commercial bank, the digital walletoperatively couplable with any one or more accounts at one or more ofthe first commercial bank, the second commercial bank and any otherparticipating commercial bank, and (b) a digital wallet made availableto the first user by a third party and which is operatively couplablewith one or more of the first subchain blockchain of the firstcommercial bank and the second subchain blockchain of the secondcommercial bank; and wherein the blockchain to which the applicationissues a command is based on one or more details of the transactionrequest; and wherein the transaction request is received through (1) acommunication transmitted from the first user's digital wallet to theapplication server, (2) a communication transmitted from the firstuser's digital wallet to the application through a syncing operationbetween the user's digital wallet and one or more of an ATM unit, adigital wallet of another user, a digital wallet of a participatingcommercial bank, and a bank teller terminal device.
 12. Thenontransitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein, ifa detail of the transaction request defines a proposed transactioninvolving a transfer of the first type of CBDC from the first user'sdigital wallet with the first commercial bank into another digitalwallet held by another user of the first commercial bank, theapplication server will issue a command causing the subchain blockchainto process the transaction.
 13. The nontransitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 11, wherein one or more of the digital walletsis configured to (1) generate a transaction request involving a digitalwallet associated with first user of one or more of the first commercialbank, a commercial bank in operative communication with the firstcommercial bank, the second commercial bank, a commercial bank inoperative communication with the second commercial bank, and a thirdparty payment service, and (2) generate a transaction request involvingone or more of the first type of CBDC and the second type of CBDC; andfurther wherein the transaction request includes one or more of apayment, a request for payment, an exchange, and a request for anexchange.
 14. The nontransitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 11, wherein, if a detail of the transaction request defines aproposed transaction involving a transfer of the first type of CBDC fromthe first user's digital wallet with the first commercial bank intoanother digital wallet held by another user at a second commercial bank,the application server will issue a command causing (1) the firstsubchain blockchain to process a subtransaction that debits a designatedamount of the first type of CBDC from the first user's digital walletwith the first commercial bank, (2) the second subchain blockchain toprocess a subtransaction that credits the designated amount of the firsttype of CBDC to the another user's digital wallet with the secondcommercial bank, and (3) the first consortium blockchain to settle thetransaction in accordance with a predefined time interval.
 15. Thenontransitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein, ifa detail of the transaction request defines a proposed transactioninvolving an exchange of a designated amount of the first type of CBDCin the first user's digital wallet for an amount of the second type ofCBDC held in a second digital wallet, the application server will issue(1) a command causing one or more of the first subchain blockchain andthe second subchain blockchain to process a transaction causing thedesignated amount of the first type of CBDC to be debited from a digitalwallet of the first user that is configured to hold the first type ofCBDC, (2) a command causing a corresponding amount of the second type ofCBDC to be credited to a digital wallet of the first user that isconfigured to hold the second type of CBDC, and (3) causing one or moreof the first subchain blockchain, the second subchain blockchain, thefirst consortium blockchain and the second consortium blockchain tosettle the transaction in accordance with a predefined time interval;wherein the corresponding amount of the second type of CBDC isdetermined based on a predefined exchange rate between the first type ofCBDC and the second type of CBDC; and wherein the second digital walletis held by at least one of the first commercial bank, another commercialbank, and another user; and wherein the commercial bank providing thesecond digital wallet imposes a fee for the exchange.
 16. Thenontransitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein whenone or more of the first subchain blockchain, the first consortiumblockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the second consortiumblockchain are offline, a transaction between two digital wallets may beprocessed offline, in whole or in part, over one or more of a Bluetooth,IoT, Wi-Fi, and mesh networking connection established between the twodigital wallets; and wherein when the one or more of the first subchainblockchain, the first consortium blockchain, the second subchainblockchain, and the second consortium blockchain are back online, one ormore transaction details of the transaction processed offline aretransmitted to the application server and reflected in an update to oneor more of the first subchain blockchain, the first consortiumblockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the second consortiumblockchain; and wherein any amounts received by a digital wallet duringan transaction that is processed offline are restricted from being usedin subsequent transactions until the offline transaction is validated byone or more of the first subchain blockchain and the second subchainblockchain.
 17. The nontransitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 14, wherein the first commercial bank imposes, via the applicationserver, restrictions including one or more of: (1) limiting access toone or more transaction details of a processed transaction to the firstcommercial bank and the users involved in the transaction, (2) limitingtransactions to those in amounts beneath a predetermined threshold, and(3) limiting the number of transactions a given user can request withina predetermined period of time.
 18. The nontransitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 11, wherein, if a detail of the transactionrequest defines a proposed transaction involving an exchange of adesignated amount of the first type of CBDC in the user's digital walletfor an amount of a first type of fiat currency or a second type of fiatcurrency, the application server will (1) issue a command causing one ormore of the first subchain blockchain and the second subchain blockchainto process a transaction causing the designated amount of the first typeof CBDC to be debited from a digital wallet of the user configured tohold the first type of CBDC, (2) issue a command causing or permit acorresponding amount of the first type of fiat currency or the secondtype of fiat currency to be released or provided to the user, and (3)issue a command causing (a) one or more of the first subchainblockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the first consortiumblockchain to settle the transaction in accordance with a predefinedtime interval, or (b) one or more of a non-blockchain supported systemand a legacy system of the first commercial bank to settle thetransaction in accordance with a predefined time interval; wherein thecorresponding amount of the first type of fiat currency or the secondtype of fiat currency is determined based on a predefined exchange ratebetween the first type of CBDC and the first type of fiat currency orthe second type of fiat currency.
 19. The nontransitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 11, wherein a transaction request maybe submitted by account holders and commercial banking partners of thefirst commercial bank.
 20. The nontransitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 11, wherein one or more of account holders andcommercial banking partners of the first commercial bank submittransaction requests using a digital wallet or API configured tocommunicate with the application server maintained by the firstcommercial bank.
 21. A method, comprising: operating an applicationserver maintained by a first commercial bank to (a) receive atransaction request from a first user's digital wallet, and (b) issue acommand causing at least one of a plurality of blockchains to process atransaction consistent with the transaction request; operating a firstsubchain blockchain at a server hosted by the first commercial bank,wherein the first subchain blockchain is operatively coupled with (1) asecond subchain blockchain hosted by one or more of the first bank and asecond commercial bank, (2) a first consortium blockchain dedicated totransactions involving a first type of CBDC, the first consortiumblockchain hosted on a plurality of nodes at least one of which beingmaintained by the first commercial bank and at least one of which beingmaintained by the second commercial bank, (3) a second consortiumblockchain dedicated to transactions involving a second type of CBDC,the second consortium blockchain hosted on a plurality of nodes at leastone of which being maintained by the first commercial bank and at leastone of which being maintained by the second commercial bank; wherein thetransaction request received by the application server from the firstuser is generated through one or more of (a) a digital wallet madeavailable to the first user by the first commercial bank, the digitalwallet operatively couplable with any one or more accounts at one ormore of the first commercial bank, the second commercial bank and anyother participating commercial bank, and (b) a digital wallet madeavailable to the first user by a third party and which is operativelycouplable with one or more of the first subchain blockchain of the firstcommercial bank and the second subchain blockchain of the secondcommercial bank; and wherein the blockchain to which the applicationserver issues a command is based on one or more details of thetransaction request; and wherein the transaction request is received bythe application server through (1) a communication transmitted from thefirst user's digital wallet to the application server, (2) acommunication transmitted from the first user's digital wallet to theapplication server through a syncing operation between the user'sdigital wallet and one or more of an ATM unit, a digital wallet ofanother user, a digital wallet of a participating commercial bank, and abank teller terminal device.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein, if adetail of the transaction request received by the application serverdefines a proposed transaction involving a transfer of the first type ofCBDC from the first user's digital wallet with the first commercial bankinto another digital wallet held by another user of the first commercialbank, the application server will issue a command causing the subchainblockchain to process the transaction.
 23. The method of claim 21,wherein one or more of the digital wallets is configured to (1) generatea transaction request for reception by the application server, thetransaction request involving a digital wallet associated with firstuser of one or more of the first commercial bank, a commercial bank inoperative communication with the first commercial bank, the secondcommercial bank, a commercial bank in operative communication with thesecond commercial bank, and a third party payment service, and (2)generate a transaction request for reception by the application server,the transaction request involving one or more of the first type of CBDCand the second type of CBDC; and further wherein the transaction requestincludes one or more of a payment, a request for payment, an exchange,and a request for an exchange.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein, if adetail of the transaction request defines a proposed transactioninvolving a transfer of the first type of CBDC from the first user'sdigital wallet with the first commercial bank into another digitalwallet held by another user at a second commercial bank, the applicationserver will issue a command causing (1) the first subchain blockchain toprocess a subtransaction that debits a designated amount of the firsttype of CBDC from the first user's digital wallet with the firstcommercial bank, (2) the second subchain blockchain to process asubtransaction that credits the designated amount of the first type ofCBDC to the another user's digital wallet with the second commercialbank, and (3) the first consortium blockchain to settle the transactionin accordance with a predefined time interval.
 25. The method of claim21, wherein, if a detail of the transaction request defines a proposedtransaction involving an exchange of a designated amount of the firsttype of CBDC in the first user's digital wallet for an amount of thesecond type of CBDC held in a second digital wallet, the applicationserver will issue (1) a command causing one or more of the firstsubchain blockchain and the second subchain blockchain to process atransaction causing the designated amount of the first type of CBDC tobe debited from a digital wallet of the first user that is configured tohold the first type of CBDC, (2) a command causing a correspondingamount of the second type of CBDC to be credited to a digital wallet ofthe first user that is configured to hold the second type of CBDC, and(3) causing one or more of the first subchain blockchain, the secondsubchain blockchain, the first consortium blockchain and the secondconsortium blockchain to settle the transaction in accordance with apredefined time interval; wherein the corresponding amount of the secondtype of CBDC is determined based on a predefined exchange rate betweenthe first type of CBDC and the second type of CBDC; and wherein thesecond digital wallet is held by at least one of the first commercialbank, another commercial bank, and another user; and wherein thecommercial bank providing the second digital wallet imposes a fee forthe exchange.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein when one or more ofthe first subchain blockchain, the first consortium blockchain, thesecond subchain blockchain, and the second consortium blockchain areoffline, a transaction between two digital wallets may be processedoffline, in whole or in part, over one or more of a Bluetooth, IoT,Wi-Fi, and mesh networking connection established between the twodigital wallets; and wherein when the one or more of the first subchainblockchain, the first consortium blockchain, the second subchainblockchain, and the second consortium blockchain are back online, one ormore transaction details of the transaction processed offline aretransmitted to the application server and reflected in an update to oneor more of the first subchain blockchain, the first consortiumblockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the second consortiumblockchain; and wherein any amounts received by a digital wallet duringan transaction that is processed offline are restricted from being usedin subsequent transactions until the offline transaction is validated byone or more of the first subchain blockchain and the second subchainblockchain.
 27. The method of claim 21, wherein the first commercialbank imposes, via the application server, restrictions including one ormore of: (1) limiting access to one or more transaction details of aprocessed transaction to the first commercial bank and the usersinvolved in the transaction, (2) limiting transactions to those inamounts beneath a predetermined threshold, and (3) limiting the numberof transactions a given user can request within a predetermined periodof time.
 28. The method of claim 21, wherein, if a detail of thetransaction request defines a proposed transaction involving an exchangeof a designated amount of the first type of CBDC in the user's digitalwallet for an amount of a first type of fiat currency or a second typeof fiat currency, the application server will (1) issue a commandcausing one or more of the first subchain blockchain and the secondsubchain blockchain to process a transaction causing the designatedamount of the first type of CBDC to be debited from a digital wallet ofthe user configured to hold the first type of CBDC, (2) issue a commandcausing or permit a corresponding amount of the first type of fiatcurrency or the second type of fiat currency to be released or providedto the user, and (3) issue a command causing (a) one or more of thefirst subchain blockchain, the second subchain blockchain, and the firstconsortium blockchain to settle the transaction in accordance with apredefined time interval, or (b) one or more of a non-blockchainsupported system and a legacy system of the first commercial bank tosettle the transaction in accordance with a predefined time interval;wherein the corresponding amount of the first type of fiat currency orthe second type of fiat currency is determined based on a predefinedexchange rate between the first type of CBDC and the first type of fiatcurrency or the second type of fiat currency.
 29. The method of claim21, wherein a transaction request is submitted by one or more of anaccount holder and a commercial banking partner of the first commercialbank.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein one or more of the accountholder and commercial banking partner of the first commercial bank maysubmit the transaction request using a digital wallet or API configuredto communicate with the application server maintained by the firstcommercial bank.